


Captive Heart

by Sarcasmcat



Series: Wild One [2]
Category: Laramie (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:40:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23254843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcasmcat/pseuds/Sarcasmcat
Summary: When a trapper comes to Laramie, it doesn't bode well for Jess' safety and Slim isn't going to let anything happen.
Relationships: Jess Harper/Slim Sherman
Series: Wild One [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671808
Comments: 25
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone is doing well.
> 
> Here, we are, with the sequel to Wild Heart! Thanks to everyone who read, commented and left kudos on Wild Heart, you are all wonderful people. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Slim twists in the saddle, gaze sweeping the rise of the hill and the ridge above him. “Damn it Jess.”

He knows the other man is in this area somewhere, though all he has seen so far as proof is a few hoof prints in the loose dirt. Jess had mentioned being out here before they had separated this morning and they had agreed to meet up at noon to head back to the house. Now it’s nearly noon and he hasn’t seen any sign of Jess.

He’s half tempted to head back home when his horse neighs and he hears a response from the top of the hill. Shaking his head Slim nudges his mount into movement and as they crest the hill, he sees Jess’ horse, reins tied to a low branch. 

The familiar dark hat and gun belt are hanging from the saddle horn which means Jess is around somewhere. In the four months since he found out about Jess and his ability to change into a cougar, he’s learned a lot about what Jess does when he changes. And if his gun belt is still on the horse, Jess is around somewhere. 

He draws up next to the bay and ties his own set of reins to the same branch before looking around. Jess’ position isn’t clear and Slim walks away from the horses, eyes going to a large, flat topped boulder protruding from the ground. Something dark is hanging over the edge and he crosses to the rock, smiling when he realizes it’s Jess’ tail.

Slim reaches up, tugging gently. He hears movement from the top and then Jess is peering over the edge, ears swiveling towards him. “Were you planning on lunch or are you going to be having rabbit?”

In answer Jess yawns before standing and jumping off the rock. He pads towards the horses and changes when he reaches them. Reaching into his saddlebags he draws his clothes out and starts getting dressed. “You were takin’ so long with what you were doin’ I figured I would get a nap in.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you got everything done and still had a chance to take a nap?”

Jess shrugs his shirt on and glances at Slim, a faint smile pulling at his mouth. “Maybe. Weren’t any holes in the fence I checked and none of our stock had wandered off.”

Slim skims his hand down Jess’ sun warmed side before stepping back so he can finish dressing. “I didn’t find any holes, but there are a few spots we’re going to need to repair if we don’t want to be chasing our stock into the next territory.”

Tucking his shirt in Jess grabs his gun belt. “They’ll hold?”

“For now.” Slim mounts, watching as Jess does the same. “We shouldn’t let them go more than a week. If we get any kind of weather, they likely won’t hold.”

Jess puts his hat on before gathering up the reins. “Guess that means we know what we’ll be doin’ next week.”

“Assuming nothing else comes up.” It feels like in the last two months Mort has drawn them into two posses, which has put them behind on several other projects.

Slanting a look at Slim, Jess nudges his horse over, until their legs are bumping as they ride. “The last time you said that, you remember what happened?”

He makes a face. “I know. If it happens again, I’ll take care of all the stage changes for a week.”

Jess’ face lights up and he grins. “Deal.”

\----- 

They are nearly halfway home when Jess tugs on the reins, drawing his horse to a quick stop. He twists in the saddle, glancing back the way they had come, eyes narrowed. 

Slim draws in next to him. “What?”

Jess continues to stare, mouth drawn into to a frown. “I heard a rifle shot.”

“From our land?” They aren’t more than a mile or so from the edge of the ranch, but the entire stretch of fence is well posted. Even before he had found out about Jess, he had made sure the signs were in good shape. Now he checks them almost weekly, not wanting anyone to get any ideas about hunting the land, especially if they’re out for cougar. 

Shaking his head Jess straightens in the saddle. “Maybe. Hard to tell.”

Slim casts a last look over his shoulder before nudging his horse to catch up with Jess. He’s going to have to ride back out this way and make sure the signs are still in good shape. Maybe if he gets lucky, he’ll be able to find some prints. 

Most of the people around Laramie know to ask permission if they want to hunt on the ranch and no one has been by lately.

“Jess.”

Jess glances at him, a knowing smile pulling at his mouth. “Don’ worry. I never leave the ranch on four feet. Too many rifle toting people who panic at the sight of a cougar wandering around.”

With a nod Slim feels his worry ease a little. He has to remember Jess has survived this long, on two feet and four, without his input. But he can’t help but worry, because it is part of his nature, as his mother had told him so many years ago. “Never mind what they would do if they saw a dark cougar.”

“Yeah. That ain’t a problem I want to give them either. Would likely turn out with half the trappers around here lookin’ for me.” Jess shakes his head, as though dismissing the thought. “We better get back before Andy eats all of lunch.”

He urges his horse into a trot and Slim follows suite.

\-----

The buckboard is gone when they get home and Slim shares a look with Jess as they tie their horses up at the corral. “Wonder if something came up?”

Jonesy hadn’t mentioned having to go into town, but that doesn’t mean much. He might have found something they couldn’t do without or had gone into town for some other reason. 

Tying their horses up they head to the kitchen door and Andy opens it, leaning out. “You might as well wash up. Lunch is almost done!”

He closes the door and Slim shares a look with Jess. “I’d say he’s been spending too much time with Jonesy. Sounded just like him.”

Grinning Jess heads towards the pump. “I don’ know we can handle the two of them sounding like that.”

“I don’t think we can.” Slim rolls up the sleeves of his shirt as Jess works the pump. “We might have to take him out to the creek and wash it out of him.”

Jess scrubs his hands, a thoughtful look on his face. “Might take a few wettings to get it all out of him.”

Slim steps aside so Jess can get to the towel before plunging his hands into the cold water. “I think we’ll be able to manage that. For the peace of the house and all.”

Handing the towel off Jess grins. “For peace.”

Slim hangs the towel back up before opening the door, Jess right behind him. 

Andy is just filling the plates as they enter the house and they carefully step around him to settle at the table. He sets the plates down before going back for the coffee pot. “I was starting to think you two weren’t going to come in.”

Slim looks at Jess. “We would have been in sooner, but someone fell asleep on top of a rock.”

Grinning Jess leans back in the chair. “I wasn’t asleep. I heard you comin’ but didn’ see a point to move until you showed up.” He looks at Andy. “Where’d Jonesy get off to?”

Andy sets the coffee pot back on the stove before joining them. “He said something about needing flour and a few other things. I think he is planning on being home in time for supper.”

Jess sighs. “I guess that means one of us is going to have to cook tonight.”

Slim picks up his fork. “We’ll flip for it after we eat.” He pauses before looking at his brother. “Andy, I don’t want you roaming far from the house for a little while.”

Andy frowns. “But Slim, I’ve been really good since you had to rescue me and you said I could start wandering without you two, as long as I don’t go far.”

“I know.” Slim sighs and sets his fork back down, feeling Jess’ leg against his in a show of solidarity. Andy really has been doing well with the restrictions he’s been under since he got lost in the ravines, leaving Slim and Jess to save him and the last thing Slim wants to do is take that away but he doesn’t really have a choice. 

“And if I had another way, I would but Jess heard a shot on our way back. We don’t know where it came from, could have been on the ranch but I don’t want anything to happen to you.” At the look on Andy’s face he reaches over to squeeze his arm where it rests on the table. “Just until Jess and I figure out what is going on.”

Jess nods face solemn. “I’m plannin’ on goin’ back out there later. See if I can’t figure out who was shootin’ from where.”

Slim slides his gaze from Andy to Jess, not really surprised his partner seems to have had the same thought he did. “Be careful. No telling what you might find.”

Hand curling around his cup Jess lifts it. “I’m hopin’ it’s just someone who don’ know how to read a sign.”

With a laugh Slim nudges Jess under the table. “Which is a problem I seem to recall you having, once upon a time.”

Jess mock glares at him but doesn’t speak. 

\-----

Pushing back from the table Slim stretches his legs out. “Well, we have two options.”

Jess takes another drink of his coffee before setting the cup down. “Which is?”

“We can either ride fences again or fix harnesses. A few of them are showing signs of wear and I’d rather they didn’t break on the road.” Slim would rather go fishing or swimming, but they’ve fallen behind on all the tedium of running a relay station and they can’t let it go much longer.

Andy looks up from his plate. “Harnesses!”

He ducks his head when both Slim and Jess look at him, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “I have outside chores to do, and this way I can still ask questions!”

Smiling Slim reaches over to pat Andy on the shoulder. He’s aware of his brother’s ulterior motives. Jonesy is in town, leaving the three of them alone and Andy has made it a point of asking Jess questions every chance he gets, which is amazing. With the number of questions Andy has asked in the last few months, Slim is sure he was going to run out, but he always seems to come up with more. And Andy is never upset when Jess doesn’t have an answer but goes off to think about it.

Jess shakes his head but grins as he looks at Slim. “I guess we’re going to be workin’ on harnesses.”

“I guess we are.” Slim reluctantly gets to his feet. “Let’s get this cleaned up before Jonesy comes back or we’ll all be scrubbing dishes tonight.”

Andy quickly finishes eating before jumping up to help gather up the dishes. Between the three of them it doesn’t take long before the dishes are done and neatly stacked back in the cupboard.

Catching Andy’s shoulder Slim propels him in the direction of the door. “Why don’t you go out and get started. Jess and I will be out in a few minutes.”

The look on Andy’s face makes it seem like he’s expecting them to not follow behind, but after a second, he nods before slipping outside, closing the door. 

Jess glances at Slim. “Some reason you chased him out?”

Slim grins. “Giving you a respite, because once we’re out there, Andy is going to ask you every question he’s thought of since the last time he got a chance.”

“Coffee?” Jess inclines his head toward the pot on the stove with a grin and Slim grabs a few cups, holding them out.

\-----

“Hold it tighter, would you.”

Slim adjusts his grip on the strap, pulling it tight as Jess works an awl through the leather. After looking over a few sets of straps on the harness he and Jess had decided they would just need to make new straps. Which is all well and good, but the leather isn’t cooperating, and he can’t seem to get the tension right.

Andy pauses next to them with the bucket of chicken feed hanging from his arm. “Wait, can you change part of the way?”

Jess punches another hole in the leather, eyeing it to make sure it is even with the one on the other side of the strap before glancing at Andy. “What do you mean?”

Andy levels a look at Jess like he should be able to follow his train of thought. “Like can you have a tail, or ears?”

“No.” Jess punches another set of holes before setting the awl into the toolbox by his foot. “How does this look?”

Still holding the leather tight Slim cranes his head to look at the leather. All the holes are straight, with Jess’ usual precision and he nods. “We might as well get it stitched together, since we still have a few more to make.”

Next to them Andy shifts his weight, obviously not happy with Jess’ short answer. “How do you know?”

Jess picks up an already threaded needle. “Because I tried it when I was your age.” He smiles. “Several times.”

Slim slants a look at Andy. “Those chickens are going to start pecking at your toes if you don’t feed them soon.”

Andy sighs and relents, wandering off as he spreads feed on the ground. 

Shaking his head Jess works the needle through one of the holes, knotting the lacing off with a deft movement. “I don’ think I asked half as many questions growing up as he has in the last few months.”

Glancing to where Andy is crouching down and petting one of the friendlier hens, Slim smiles. “Andy has always been curious. When he gets older, he’s going to school to learn something he wants, something that will lead to something besides this.”

He can feel Jess watching him, but he doesn’t look at his partner. He knows Andy has never clung to the dream of a ranch like he and their father had, and Slim has finally gotten to the point where he can accept it. If and when Andy comes to him, and he’s been expecting it any time now, he’s going to give Andy his blessing to pursue whatever he wants.

It certainly won’t be the same around the ranch without Andy, but he deserves a chance to do what he wants. He glances at Jess, who is watching Andy with a fond smile and it makes his heart skip, warmth spreading through him and everything is going to be fine with Andy gone, if Jess is here.

He laughs and Jess looks at him with confusion. “What?”

Shaking his head Slim tightens his grip on the straps he’s still holding. “Nothing serious. The straps aren’t going to fix themselves.”

It looks like Jess wants to push, but he settles for a last look before bending his head to work on the strap.

\-----

Now that he is aware of Jess’ late night prowling Slim finds he can’t sleep through them. Half-awake he listens as Jess slips from the bed and the quiet sound of the room to their door opening, followed by the outside door. He dozes off again, waking up an indeterminate time later to the door opening again and quiet footsteps on the floor. 

Once the door to their room closes Slim shifts and lifts the blankets on his bed. Jess immediately slides under the blankets, pressing against him and Slim hisses out a breath as Jess’ cold feet settle against his. He dips his head, lips brushing the curve of Jess’ ear. “Why the hell are your feet cold? You have fur.”

Jess huffs a laugh. “Same reason my skin is warm when I lay outside.” He presses closer to Slim. “Plus, the floors in here are damned cold.” 

Slim strokes his hand up and down Jess’ back, sleep tugging at him. They’ll both be awake well before Andy, so there isn’t any reason to not enjoy a quiet few hours before they get up.

“It’s going to rain today.”

Jess’ breath ghosts across his collarbone and Slim hums in response. A few minutes later he feels Jess go loose against his side, breath evening out and he closes his eyes, hand tracing lazy designs across his partner’s back. 

\-----

Grey light filters in around the curtains and Slim groans, dropping his arm across his face. He really doesn’t want to get up, but he can already smell coffee and he knows he needs to get up and moving before Jonesy is knocking on the door. Against him Jess echoes his sentiment, face tucked against his shoulder. 

He drags his hand up Jess’ back, fingers rubbing at the nape of his neck. “We’ve got chores to do.”

Jess groans again before sliding from the bed. He stretches, scrubbing a hand across his face. “Maybe one day we won’t have chores.”

Slim laughs. “Maybe, when we’re old, grey and can’t manage to run a ranch and relay station.”

Turning to look at Slim, Jess’ eyes narrow and he snorts. “Going to be a long time before any grey starts showin’ on you.”

Normally Jess isn’t vain and Slim laughs again. He slides his hand across Jess’ stomach, hand curling around his side. Lowering his head, he nuzzles at the soft hair above Jess’ temple. “I’ve seen you covered in mud and worse. A little grey hair isn’t going to put me off.”

He ducks away with a laugh as he feels Jess’ fingers brush against his side. “Come on. We have chores to get done before the morning stage arrives.”

\-----

Thick, pewter grey clouds hang low, coupled with a cool breeze and Slim buttons his jacket up as he looks at Jess. “You didn’t say it was going to be windy too.”

Jess draws his gloves on. “The rain clouds had to get here somehow.”

Slim shakes his head as they start towards the barn. “If it rains enough the whole stage schedule is going to be shot.”

Nudging Slim as they enter the barn Jess sighs. “If it rains enough, we’re goin’ to have to pull the stages out of the mud. Schedule ain’t goin’ to matter much then.”

Over the years they’ve been involved in more than their fair share of unsticking stages, and it isn’t something they enjoy. The mud gets everywhere, seeping into boots and through clothing, leaving them wet and sticky. Add in the fact it takes forever to get clean, never mind the mud getting tracked into the house, coupled with Jonesy complaining and it isn’t a good situation.

Slim grabs a brush, tossing another to Jess. “Then let’s hope it doesn’t rain much.”

A crack of thunder fills the air and Slim sighs, ignoring the look Jess is leveling at him.

\-----

The morning stage makes it through just as the rain is beginning and they change the team as quickly as possible, Mose watching impatiently as they work. Content with everything Slim straightens up, stepping back to join Jess. “You might want to hurry Mose. Don’t want to get stuck on the road between here and town.”

Mose nods, climbing up into the box, where he quickly sorts the reins out. “Got no plans too. Doubt you’ll be seein’ any other stages today. Been raining all over and some of the roads ain’t great.”

Without another word he gets the team moving, droplets splashing down, splattering into the dry yard, leaving behind dark spots. More thunder rumbles, lightning flashing in the distance and Slim shifts, clapping Jess on the shoulder. “I guess we should get inside. The horses are settled and Mose is probably right.”

Jess nods with a glance up the road. “I hope so. Getting a stage out is bad enough, but in pouring rain we’d just as likely get pulled in.”

Slim gently pushes Jess in the direction of the house, hunching his shoulders as a few drops slip between his neck and the collar of his coat. “Let’s not go borrowing trouble.”

Inside the fire is already blazing and Andy is sitting in front of it, a book in his lap. The smell of coffee pervades the air and they both shed their coats, hanging them up. Jess slips around Slim, wiping his face with his forearm. 

Jonesy comes into the room, bearing two cups and he holds them out. “Sounds like maybe we should be building a raft.”

Slim gratefully takes the cup, curling his fingers around the warm china. “It’s been dry enough around here most of it should sink into the ground. It’ll be good for the waterholes though.”

Jess glances upward as the intensity of the rain changes, beating a steady, loud tattoo on the roof. He settles into a chair. “Guess it was a good thing we got the roof fixed when we did.”

Jonesy nods. “Couldn’t keep using my pots for all the drips or we never would have been able to eat!”

Slim crosses to a window, brushing back the curtains with his free hand. The rain is falling hard at an angle, enough that he can barely make out the corral across the yard and the sky has taken on a dark, ominous color. “The leaks were never that bad Jonesy.”

He shakes his head as he moves to take a seat at the table. “I hope Mose made it to town before it got like this.”

“If not, we’ll go dig them out what the rain lets up.” Jess stretches his legs out, leaning back in the chair. “And maybe after it dries out a bit. I ain’t in any hurry to lose my boots in the mud.”

Slim glances at the boots in question, noticing the worn patches and the places where Jess has had to repair a few places. “At this point you losing your boots might be a good thing. You could use some new ones.”

A betrayed look settles on Jess’ face and he lifts his foot. “There ain’t nothing wrong with these boots. Have been involved in saving you more than a few times.”

Rolling his eyes Slim takes a drink of his coffee. He understands Jess’ reluctance, as good boots are hard to come by, never mind the work of breaking them in, but at the worst case it’ll give him something to get Jess for Christmas. Assuming his current boots survive until then. 

\-----

“Jess.”

Jess raises his head, glancing at Andy. There is a hopeful look on his face, and he slants a look at Slim, who looks to be dozing in the chair, feet toward the fire. “Gotta ask Slim.”

Slim has long since relaxed his restrictions on playing poker in the house, but they never presume, and Jess always makes sure Andy has permission before they play. And they only ever play for beans, much to Andy’s dismay. 

With a sigh Andy puts his book on the shelf before approaching Slim. He pokes him in the shoulder, waiting until Slim looks at him. “Slim, can we play poker? I’m tired of reading.”

Slim shifts in his seat. “Got everything else done?” He grins as he looks at Jess. “And I seem to recall you’ve got some buttons you need to sew on.”

Jess rolls his eyes, waving a lazy hand toward the front door, where they can still hear the rain coming down. “I got plenty of time for that. We ain’t going to be doing anything else today, short of getting soaked making sure the horses get fed.” He smirks. “Afraid of losing your beans?”

Pushing up from the chair Slim shakes his head at the excited smile he sees flash across Andy’s face, as he scrambles for the table. “Not if you play fair.” He points at Jess. “With one of our decks, not the one you carry around.”

A look of mock outrage crosses Jess’ face and he grins as he stands, padding to the desk where they keep the deck of cards. “Andy, you got the beans?”

“Yeah! Jonesy, are you going to play?” Andy spills the beans across the table before sitting down, counting out piles.

Jonesy shakes his head as the three of them settle at the table. “No. Not if you three want to eat supper any time soon. We can’t all live a life of luxury and glamor.”

Sitting down, Slim sweeps his pile of beans to his side of the table as Jess does the same across from him, cards sitting in a stack between them.

Slim nearly chokes on a laugh at Jonesy’s words and a quick look at Jess shows his partner is trying hard not to laugh. He shakes his head as he watches Jess shuffle the cards, keeping an eye on hands and cards. Jess will never cheat with Andy, but Slim wouldn’t put it beyond Jess to try and mess him up. “I wouldn’t call what Jess and I did yesterday, stringing fence luxury or glamor.”

Jonesy points the spoon in his direction, making Andy laugh. “You know exactly what I mean Slim, whiling away time playing poker when there is mending that could be done.”

Setting the deck down for Andy to cut, Jess darts a look at Jonesy. “I don’ think my fingers have recovered from the last time I did the mending. I stuck myself more than the damn shirts.”

Jonesy swings the spoon in Jess’ direction. “More practice would do you good.”

Andy cuts the deck before pushing it back towards Jess. “Jonesy, stop distracting them!”

With a good-natured huff Jonesy goes back to the stove and Jess picks the deck up to deal.

\-----

By the time supper is ready, Slim can’t help but notice the discrepancy in the piles of beans littering the checkered tablecloth. Andy’s pile is by far the largest, the one in front of Jess is respectable, and his own is down to maybe fifteen beans. He looks at Andy, who is beaming at his pile of beans and he nudges Jess under the table. 

It gets him a sly look he knows well, and he pushes his pile of beans into Jess’, before combining it all with Andy’s pile. “Andy, help Jonesy set the table, would you. Jess will get the beans cleaned up and I’m going to put another log on the fire.”

\----

Quietly closing the door Slim turns to look at Jess, who is pulling his boots off. “Are you going out tonight?”

The rain has let up some, though it is still falling steady enough to be heard and Jess shakes his head as he tucks his boots under the bed. “No. Not unless you want the room to smell like wet fur, because I ain’t changing outside.”

Slim starts unbuttoning his shirt as he smiles. “I would rather not. Besides, you need the sleep. If this rain lets up tomorrow, we’re going to have to make sure no stages are stuck, the few fence posts that were in danger of coming down are still up and some of the fence is still standing.”

Jess groans, working his belt free. “You didn’ tell me being a rancher meant so much damn time workin’ on fences.”

Hanging his shirt up Slim looks at Jess, enjoying the play of muscle under skin and his fingers twitch with the want to rest a hand on him, to feel the heat and strength. “If I had, you probably wouldn’t have stayed.”

A smile pulls at Jess mouth as he lets his gaze wander over Slim before turning to hang his shirt up. “I would have found another reason to stay.”

Lazy heat curls through his body and Slim turns his head away, focusing on his shirt. As much as he wants to, they really do need to get an early start tomorrow. 

\-----

The next morning dawns, clear and bright, much to everyone’s joy. Andy rushes outside to do his morning chores, Slim and Jess following behind. The yard is muddy, but it isn’t the deep, sucking mud Slim was worried about and they head toward the barn. 

“I guess we might as well get the team hitched up. Morning stage should be through soon, if the roads are like this.”

Jess opens the barn door, leaving it open to provide light. “Like you said, it’s been dry.”

They get the horses brushed and in harness before leading them out to the corral, and ten minutes later the stage rolls into the yard. Slim gives Jess a smug look, which makes Jess huff, but he can see the smile. 

“Hey Tom, how were the roads?”

The driver grins as he climbs down. “There were plenty of puddles, but not much mud.” He jerks his head back toward the few faces they can see through the windows of the stage. “Wasn’t the best ride for them.”

Jess grins as he straightens up. “It probably has more to do with your drivin’ Tom.”

Tom glares at him before jerking his head toward the house. “Got coffee on?”

Slim nods. “You know Jonesy always keeps it hot and strong. Help yourself.” He glances at the stage as Tom heads towards the house, but it doesn’t look like any of the passengers are in any hurry to get out.

It doesn’t really matter as a few minutes later Tom is back outside and climbing into the box. “Roads have been pretty good, so I doubt any of the other stages will have problems getting through.”

Jess groans and Slim can’t help but laugh. “Thanks Tom. Have a good run.”

Once the stage is out of the yard Slim turns to look at Jess, who is doing a pretty good impression of a pouting toddler. “Well, if the roads are good, I guess that means were out to check fences.”

Glaring at him from under his hat Jess jerks his head toward the barn. “I’ll get the horses saddled while you go tell Jonesy and Andy where we’re gettin’ off to.”

\-----

They crest a ridge and Slim can’t help but notice Jess has taken them back to the ridge where they were two days ago, despite the fact they know the fence up here is mostly sound. He catches up with Jess, smiling slightly. “I see we had the same idea.”

Jess startles a little and Slim reaches over to pat his shoulder. “Just because I can’t smell everything doesn’t mean I can’t put two and two together. I don’t want to run the risk of anything happening to you if you’re out here alone and someone decides to take a shot at you.”

He curls his fingers tighter into the reins. “Though, I wouldn’t be as good at finding anything as you might be.”

Rolling his shoulders Jess looks toward the fence like. “Ain’t likely I’ll find anything after the rain, but it won’t hurt none to take a look.” He glances back at Slim. “Make me feel better, knowin’ you have my back.”

“Anytime. I’ll let you decide where we’re going to start.”

With a sharp nod Jess reins his horse down the hill, toward the fence and sign at the bottom of the hill.

\-----

“Slim.”

Handing the last woman up into the stage Slim closes the door before glancing over his shoulder. Jonesy is looking worried, frowning as he stares at the ground and the moment the stage is rolling Slim crosses to him. “What?”

Jonesy looks at Slim as he points at the dirt. “You really need to tell Jess to watch where he puts his feet. He’s going to cause a panic with our guests and the last thing we need is some nice lady fainting in the dirt.”

Slim has no idea what Jonesy is talking about and he looks at the ground where there are several clear paw prints. He shakes his head before he freezes, head jerking up to look at Jonesy.

Jonesy looks smug as he wags a finger at Slim. “The three of you aren’t as good at keeping secrets as you think you are.”

Slim shakes his head again, though he really shouldn’t be surprised. Jonesy already knows about he and Jess, so there doesn’t seem to be any reason this should be kept from him either.  
“Look, Jonesy, I-”

Shaking his head Jonesy pats his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it Slim. The secret is safe with me.” He glances to where Jess and Andy are. “After all, Jess is family.”

He gives a sharp nod before heading back inside, which Slim takes to mean the conversation is over.

Still feeling shocked, Slim heads to where Jess and Andy are in the corral, working on unharnessing the team they just changed out. He leans against the railing, watching as Jess deftly loosens the straps, pulling them free from the harness.

Jess glances at him, a frown pulling at his mouth. “Slim? You’re lookin’ a little peaked.”

Slim glances back to the house where Jonesy has already disappeared. “Seems we weren’t as careful as we thought. Jonesy knows about you.”

Jess’ hands freeze on the harness for a moment before he shrugs, working at loosening at another strap. “Ain’t no help for it.” 

“Does that mean I can ask questions when Jonesy is around now?” Andy looks far too excited about the prospect of Jonesy knowing. 

Slim glances at Jess, noticing a slight tightness in his jaw and Slim has known Jess long enough to take the hint. “I don’t think so Andy. Best just leave any questions between the three of us. You get used to doing it around other people and you might slip.”

He doesn’t go any further and he can tell the moment Andy realizes what he means, in the way his eyes widen and the horrified look that crosses his face, because he understands what would happen if anyone else was to find out what Jess could do. Andy nods, and he scratches at the nose of the horse. “Okay. I won’t say anything if anyone else is around.”

Jess nods, pulling the strap free and he lifts the harness from the horse. “Good. You wanna get the brush and get them done up?”

Andy nods and hurries to grab a brush from the bucket they keep just inside the barn. He ducks back outside and starts brushing the closest horse, talking to it as he runs the comb along it’s flank.

Slim grabs the other harness and follows Jess into the barn. Working in silence they get the harnesses sorted out on the pegs, everything stretched out. Before Jess can grab another harness Slim catches his elbow, squeezing gently. He draws him further into the barn, away from Andy, not that he has any intention of saying anything his brother doesn’t know, but this is something to stay between them.

“Are you sure you’re okay with Jonesy knowing?”

A wry look crosses Jess’ face and he shrugs. “Nothing to be done about it now. I trust him and I’m lucky I managed to keep it a secret from all of you for this long. It was only a matter of time before he found out too.” He pats Slim on the chest before stepping back.

Slim sighs, knowing he’s probably lucky he got that much out of Jess. Despite the years between them, there are still things Jess is reticent about and Slim isn’t surprised this is one of those things. Maybe when he’s had more time to think about it, Jess will find it easier to talk about and Slim isn’t going to push him. It won’t do him good anyhow.

He follows Jess out of the barn, watching as the other man ducks back into the corral to help Andy with brushing down the horses and he heads towards the house. With as busy as they’ve been around the ranch, his bookkeeping has fallen behind and he’s sure someone is going to be by soon to check on it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their feet have barely hit the ground when Mort is coming towards them, a thunderous look on his face. Slim stops, reins still in his hand. “Howdy Mort.”
> 
> Mort raises a hand, eyes darting between them. “Boys, I’m glad you decided to come into town today. You saved me a trip.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this update finds everyone well. 
> 
> Huge thanks to everyone who read, left wonderful comments and kudos. You are all wonderful people
> 
> Enjoy!

They ride into town and Slim edges his horse over, leg brushing against Jess. “Do you want to hit the saloon before we go order what we need?”

Jess nods with a grin, eyes bright under the shadow of his hat. “We better. Once Frank gets goin’ with his stories we’re going to be sorry if we didn’t have it. You still got the list?”

Slim pats the pocket of his vest. “Made sure it was tucked away before we even left the house.” For once they have extra money and there are several items they’ve been putting off ordering, including a few things Jonesy has been moaning about for the last month or so.

Their feet have barely hit the ground when Mort is coming towards them, a thunderous look on his face. Slim stops, reins still in his hand. “Howdy Mort.”

Mort raises a hand, eyes darting between them. “Boys, I’m glad you decided to come into town today. You saved me a trip.”

Jess shifts his weight, canting his head to the side. “What’s the trouble?”

Mort stops, pinning him with a look before shaking his head. “Come over to the office when you get a chance. This isn’t exactly something I want aired out where all of the town can hear it.”

“Alright Mort. Just as soon as I get my list to Frank, we’ll be right over.” Slim glances at Jess, wondering what the other man knows that he doesn’t. Jess is still looking at Mort, eyes narrowed, a faint frown pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Waving his hand Mort sighs. “Go ahead and get your drink too. Might make what I have to say go down easier, and you’ll likely want one after I get done.”

Unease makes the hair on back of Slim’s neck prickle and he wraps his reins around the hitching post. “Okay. We’ll be by in a few minutes.”

Mort tips his hat before turning and striding off, his gait stiff.

Jess shakes his head, wrapping his reins around the wood. He glances around before stepping into Slim, voice pitched low when he speaks. “Mort smells like anger and despair. Whatever has got him all out of sorts ain’t likely to be anything good.”

Hearing Jess’ confirmation of what he was already expecting makes Slim sigh and he scratches his chin. “Alright. Quick drink, we’ll drop the list off with Frank and then see what Mort needs. He glances at Jess. “At this point I don’t think we can say no to what Mort is going to ask of us.”

Eyes hard, Jess shakes his head. “No, I don’t think we can.”

They enter the saloon, though Slim feels like his earlier good mood is gone, swept away by whatever had been troubling Mort despite the fact he doesn’t know any details. The inside of the saloon is loud which is odd since there are only ten or so men, most of the clustered around a table towards the back wall. 

Slim stops at the bar, feeling Jess sidle up next to him, close enough their shoulders touch. Even through the brief touch he can feel the tension pulling Jess’ body tight and he knows it has something to do with what is going on with Mort. He cants his head toward Jess. “Guess it isn’t as great as Andy seems to think it is.”

Jess sighs, dragging a finger against the worn top of the bar. “Most of the time it ain’t a big deal, but stuff like with Mort.” He shrugs. “Makes it hard.”

Slim doesn’t expect anything else and he gestures to the bartender, tossing a coin on the bar. The bartender sets glasses down and pours their drinks before wandering back to the far end where a few men are gathered and Slim stares down at the amber liquid in his glass. Jess doesn’t seem in a hurry either, his glass untouched in front of him.

A burst of laughter from the corner startles them both and they turn as one. The crowd of men part and Slim can make out a figure, the fringe and fur trimming, the worn buckskins, everything that screams trapper. He says something else that has the group of men laughing and Slim turns back to his drink. 

Jess doesn’t move and Slim glances at his partner. Jess’ eyes are narrowed, nose wrinkled in disgust and he looks like he’s ready to start a fight. Having a good idea of what has Jess’ dander up, Slim picks up the glass, waving it under the other man’s nose.

The acrid fumes work, and Jess shakes his head, snapping a hand to wave at the glass Slim just barely manages to jerk away before it goes flying. He glares at Slim. “Damnit Slim.”

Unfazed Slim holds the glass out. “We already paid. Drink it so we can get out of here before you try to start a fight.”

Jess looks like he wants to argue but he subsides, taking the glass and throwing it back with a wince. He sets it on the bar, gaze going back to the trapper and Slim turns him in the direction of the door, pushing, putting himself between Jess and the table. He doesn’t want to give Jess an opportunity to start anything. 

Exiting the saloon Slim adjusts his hat before looking at Jess. “You okay?”

Jess shakes his head, eyes narrowed in disgust as he stares back into the saloon. “Yeah. Just hope that man ain’t plannin’ on staying in town for long.”

More raucous laughter sounds from inside and Slim frowns as they step down from the boardwalk. “Didn’t know you had a problem with trappers.” It would make sense, given his dual nature, but he has seen Jess have civil conversations with other trappers over the years and this is the first time he has ever seen this kind of reaction. 

“Normally I don’.” Jess unwraps the reins, scratching at his mount’s cheek. “But that one reeks of old blood. He ain’t the good kind of trapper, who does it clean.”

“Alright. If someone sends him our way, he won’t be setting foot on the ranch. Especially not with Andy around.” It isn’t like Andy is unfamiliar with the concept of trappers and has come hunting with them a few times, but Slim doesn’t want to risk it. The last thing they need is for Andy to come across a trapped animal and try to help it, only to get injured in the process.

Jess gives a curt nod but doesn’t say anything else.

Slim nudges Jess. “Let’s get our list to Frank so we can go see what Mort needs. From what you said, we shouldn’t leave him waiting too long.”

Handing his reins to Jess, Slim ducks into the store. He hands the list to Frank, nodding at the man’s promise of having the order filled by next week before going back outside. Jess is staring back toward the saloon and Slim sighs as he pulls his reins from unresisting fingers. 

He is going to have to keep Jess out of town and hope the trapper doesn’t linger in Laramie too long.

They cross to Mort’s office, quickly tying their horses up and Slim feels a prickle of apprehension crawl across his skin. In all the time he’s known Mort he can’t recall a time he’s ever seen the older man as worked up as he had been in the street. And Jess seems to share his feeling, if the pinch of worry between his eyebrows is any indication. 

When they enter the sheriff’s office Mort is sitting at the desk, elbows propped on the top, forehead pressing against his hands. He looks up when Jess closes the door. “Thanks for coming boys.”

Slim takes his hat off. “Anytime. What has you so rattled you don’t want the rest of town to know?”

With a heavy sign Mort scrubs a hand across his face as he leans back in his chair. “In Cheyenne a few days ago. A group of four men shot and killed a rancher and his wife, hoping to find the money they were rumored to have. They stole the little bit the man and his wife had. The couple’s ten-year-old daughter managed to hide from the men, and she was found on the road into town.”

“The men separated, and one took the money until they could meet up. His name is Joe Carver. The little girl recognized him from a wanted poster. He was rumored to be headed this way, so the marshal in Cheyenne wired me, wanting me to keep an eye out for him.” Mort looks between them. “I figured if he was going to stay around here, it would be in the caves.”

Slim shifts his weight, aware of Jess’ stillness, the way his attention is completely focused on Mort. “So you want us to lead a posse out there?”

“No, I just want the three of us to head out there.” At Slim’s surprised look Mort barks a harsh laugh. “I take a posse out there; it’ll get the whole town up in a lather and it might get back to his partners. I’d much rather just drag him back here and get him to Cheyenne before the others know what is going on.” He looks between them. “Will you help?”

“Ain’t really anyway we can’t. There are too many ranches around here they might decide to hit.” The rest of what Jess is implying goes without saying. Anyone might see Andy and Jonesy home alone and decide the two of them would make for an easy target.

Slim nods. “Jess is right. You want to head out now?”

Looking relieved Mort slowly gets to his feet. “I do. I’ve got to go find Ted and let him know I’m leaving town. I’ll meet you on the road out to your place.”

“Alright.” Slim catches Jess’ elbow, tugging him toward the door. “We’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Once they’re outside Slim puts his hat back on and he sighs. Around them people are hurrying about their business, a few glancing their way, but it isn’t enough to alarm anyone. Everyone in town is used to seeing them at the sheriff’s office. He gently shoves Jess toward the horses, frowning when Jess slips away from the contact. 

Something has really gotten under Jess’ skin and he isn’t sure how much of it is the trapper and how much of it is what Mort just told them. He knows Jess will never admit it, but he’s a soft touch when it comes to children. Hopefully being able to give the girl in Cheyenne some closure will get the burr out from under Jess’ skin.

As they ride past the saloon Slim can’t help but notice the way Jess’ gaze goes to the building and he sighs. “Am I going to have to worry about you sneaking off and coming back to make trouble with the trapper?”

If the mulish set to Jess’ jaw is any indication, that was exactly what he was thinking and Slim sighs. “Look, I’m not above tying you up at home if I have to, to keep you from getting yourself into trouble.” 

At the challenging look in Jess’ gaze Slim nudges his horse closer, not wanting anyone to overhear. “And don’t think I won’t manage to truss you up so you can’t wiggle out as a cougar. I’m not going to let you make trouble for yourself and Mort because you’ve got it in your head to do something stupid.”

A muscle in Jess’ jaw twitches but he just gives a curt nod as they leave town and Slim shakes his head at the stiff line of Jess’ back. They stop not far out of town, leading their horses off the road and Slim drops the reins, hands curling over the saddle horn. 

Mort comes riding out of town ten minutes later, and Slim is glad to see him. While he and Jess don’t usually fill the silence between them with inane chatter, sitting here waiting for Mort had been painful. Jess had been rock solid in the saddle, not moving and Slim cuts a look at him and sighs, knowing he isn’t going to get an answer.

Jess tugs at the reins, setting his heels against his mount’s side and he leads off without a word. Mort follows, his back stiff.

Sighing Slim nudges his horse into movement, trailing behind Mort and Jess and for once he doesn’t mind riding drag. It gives him a chance to think, mostly about what is going on with Jess. There have only been a few men over the years he’s seen Jess react to like the trapper and at this point, he knows that is never a good thing. 

It isn’t long before they reach the area near the caves and Slim leans over in the saddle, looking at the ground. The dirt is still damp and there are a few spots where the dirt has been kicked up, previous to them passing through and he looks up to where Jess is doing the same and even from the rear he can see the frown pulling at his partner’s mouth.

On the left the rocks open, a few tracks visible in the loose, wet dirt. They ride through the rocks to where the stream is running high from the rain a few days ago and they stop.  
The tracks disappear into the water and Mort pushes his hat back on his head. “Damn. I didn’t even think he might take to the water.”

Hands resting on the saddle horn, Slim glances at Jess. His partner is just up from him, head tipped back with an intense look of concentration on his face and Slim doesn’t move, not wanting to interrupt.

Jess shakes his head and sneezes before gathering up the reins, turning his horse upstream. “He went this way.”

Mort twists in the saddle, frowning. “You sure Jess? I didn’t see any tracks up there.”

Slim moves to follow Jess. “There is another fresh print up here by the rock.” A part of him recoils at the lie, no matter how small and harmless it really is. 

They could likely trust Mort with Jess’ secret, as he’s backed them several times in situations that could have resulted in him losing his badge. Right now, though it isn’t something they need to put on Mort’s plate. All they need to do is catch the man and he and Jess can go home, far from the trapper and any other trouble Jess might get himself into.

Jess continues along the creek, stopping every few seconds to test the breeze and Slim is careful to stay between he and Mort. A few minutes later Jess stops and drops from the saddle, pulling his rifle free from the scabbard.

Without a word Slim follows suit. Jess has a reason for stopping here and he certainly isn’t going to question him.

Mort looks at them, face twisted in confusion. “What is going on with you two?”

Checking his rifle Jess jerks his head further up the trail. “His horse is up there and if we go any further it’ll let him know we’re comin’. The best thing to do is go on foot and see if we can’t get the drop on him.”

For a moment Slim thinks Mort is going to ask questions they can’t answer without betraying Jess’ secret. The only reason Jess stopped them here is because he can hear, or smell where the man and his horse are, which is going to give them an advantage. 

Luckily Mort just shakes his head and dismounts, wrapping his reins around a bit of dead wood. “Alright. You two have never steered me wrong before.”

Jess glances at him and Slim nods, gesturing with one hand. If they have any chance of taking the man alive, without any serious injury to themselves, Jess leading is the only way they’re going to do it.

He follows Jess up around the big boulder, aware of Mort following behind and they slowly creep up the slight incline. There are more tracks in the dirt, horse and man and Jess crouches, fingers tracing the indent of a hoof. Slim waits, knowing Jess is doing more than just looking a quick flick of Jess’ eyes towards him confirms what he already knows. This is the man they’ve been looking for.

He has no idea how Jess knows exactly, but he isn’t going to question it. Stepping closer to Jess he sighs. “How do you want to do this?”

Jess inclines his head toward the rocks to their left, the narrow crevice leading up to a ledge overlooking where they were standing, as well as the area ahead of them. “If one of us goes on up there it would give us an advantage. If he knowed someone was up there, he might not put up much of a fight.”

Mort is eyeing the crevice and climb with skepticism and Slim looks at Jess. “Might be best for you to do the climbing Jess. You’re a better shot.” He knows he doesn’t need to say anything else. Jess will be more surefooted on the climb and it’ll be safer for him.

With a nod Jess adjusts his grip. “I can do it. Give me a couple of minutes to get up there.”

He starts to move away and Slim takes a step forward. “Jess-”

Jess shakes his head, though there is a hint of a familiar smile on his face. “I know.”

They’re in a blind spot, hidden behind a few big boulders and Jess casts a quick look up toward the cave before he darts across the open space. He wiggles into the narrow crevice and starts climbing, moving with ease despite the fact he is carrying his rifle. 

Mort pushes his hat back, watching as Jess carefully and easily works his way up the narrow crevice. “If I didn’t know better, I would think Jess was part big horn sheep.”

Slim can only nod, hoping he doesn’t have a tell. Even when he isn’t feeling well Mort is perceptive and Slim doesn’t want to have to make any awkward attempts at dodging questions from him.

Shaking his head Mort tears his gaze away from Jess, turning his attention back up the hill. “How do you want to do this?”

With a shrug Slim watches as Jess continues to climb, coming out on the ledge a few minutes later. “You’re in charge here Mort. Jess and I just came with as support.”

Mort sighs. “I suppose I should have expected that.” His gaze darts up to the ledge where they can just barely see Jess creeping further along the edge. “Well, I guess I’ll give him a chance to surrender and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

He turns to look toward the cave. “Should we give Jess a few more minutes?”

A quick look at the ledge shows that Jess is in position and he waves. Slim looks at Mort. “Guess you might as well see if he’s willing to give up now, before anyone starts shooting.”

“Alright.” Mort slowly makes his way towards the edge of the boulder and Slim goes left, moving to cover the older man. 

He settles between a boulder and twisted, gnarled tree, rifle held against his shoulder. From here Slim can see the rump of a black horse, tail swishing against the biting insects living around the stream and further on, the dark shadow of the cave mouth.

Stopping near the edge of the boulder Mort peers around. “Joe Carver! I know you’re up there!”

There isn’t any sign of life from the cave and Mort frowns. “I’m Sheriff Cory from Laramie. Give yourself up and go back to Cheyenne.”

Slim frowns, not liking the quiet. He, Jess and Andy have been up here before and explored the caves. This one doesn’t have another way out, so Carver isn’t going to be slipping out any other way. Especially not with Jess playing sentinel up on the ledge.

A bullet strikes the rock near Mort, sending up a spray of rock chips and he darts back into safety, drawing his gun.

Before Slim can even react, Jess is firing, three shots neatly into the dirt in front of the cave and he can only assume his partner can see something he can’t. A few seconds later a rifle comes flying out of the cave, followed quickly by a six-gun.

Carver comes out next, arms raised above his head but Slim doesn’t break from cover. There might be a derringer on Carver, and he isn’t in any hurry to find out. “Jess?”

“He ain’t got anything else!” Jess is at the edge, rifle still trained on Carver.

Slim cuts a look at Mort. “Might as well get him in shackles before he tries anything.”

“I won’t!” There is a panicked note to Carver’s voice and his eyes dart to the cliff where Jess is a shadow. “I don’t wanna get shot.”

Scowling Mort storms toward the man. “Should have thought of that before you gunned down that couple near Cheyenne.” He reaches Carver’s side and grabs the man’s arm, dragging him toward his horse. “Slim, grab the shackles from my saddlebag.”

Slim hurries to get the shackles, taking a moment to slide his rifle back into the scabbard. He quickly unties all three horses, leading them around the boulders and by the time he gets back Jess is back on the ground, glaring at Carver with his rifle cradled in his arms.

In turn Carver is staring at Jess, body tight, a flicker of fear in his eyes and anytime Jess moves, he shifts closer to Mort, like he expects to be rescued. Watching, Slim can’t help but wonder if something in Carver recognizes what Jess is, the latent, deadly form curled just below his skin.

Slim drops the reins of the horses behind Jess and crosses to Mort, holding out the shackles. Mort takes them with a curt nod, snapping the metal around Carver’s wrist before grabbing his arm, manhandling him in the direction of the black still tied to the bushes. 

With a grunt Carver manages to pull himself into the saddle, frowning when Mort grabs the reins. “I didn’ have anything to do with what happened in Cheyenne.” 

Jess slides his rifle back into the scabbard, grabbing the reins as he glares at Carver. “Funny way of showin’ it, takin’ a shot at a lawman.”

Slim settles in the saddle, gathering up the reins as he watches the way Carver shrinks back, hands twisting against his shackles.

Mort mounts his horse, reaching back to grab the reins to Carver’s horse. He looks at Slim and Jess. “Alright boys, let’s head back to town.”

They let Mort lead the way back toward Laramie, Carver safely between them. Every few seconds Carver glances back, eyes going to Jess before he turns back around. A quick look at Jess revels a grim smile pulling at his mouth and Slim shakes his head. He gestures for Jess to drop back and his partner does, putting more space between them and Mort. 

Despite the distance between them and the two men, Slim still moves closer to Jess. He gestures towards Carver. “Is he?”

Jess shakes his head, sharp gaze darting to the man ahead of them. “No. I would have smelled it.” He glances at Slim, his gaze softening. “Some people just seem to have a sense about it. Can’t tell you how many times it saved me from gettin’ in a fight.”

Slim scratches the back of his neck, frowning. “I didn’t have any idea.”

Jess laughs, and it feels like some of the tension from town and the trapper is gone. “Because you’re so trustin’. No reason to suspect.”

“I am not trusting!” The look Jess gives him is full of skepticism and Slim sighs, letting it drop. It had been different with Jess, because he had willingly put himself in danger when Carlin had come to the station, had worked to keep Andy and Jonesy safe and after that how could Slim not trust him.

\-----

He and Jess follow Mort to the sheriff’s office, and Slim can feel eyes on them. By the time he and Jess get out the entire town will likely be buzzing with rumors and gossip, which they’ll have to dodge if they ever want to get home today. 

Mort dismounts, wrapping his reins up before going to Carver’s side. “Come on, down.” He looks at Jess and Slim. “Boys, come in if you would. We’re not quite done yet.” 

Carver levels a look at Jess before kicking his foot free and awkwardly sliding off his horse, away from him.

Shaking his head Slim drops from the saddle, Jess doing the same and they bump shoulders as they tie their horses up before heading inside. 

Hand curling around Carver’s arm Mort guides the man into his office, Slim and Jess trailing behind. 

He shoves Carver into one of the cells and closes the door, locking it. “Alright, hands through the bars.”

Carver complies, keeping his eyes on Jess the entire time and once the shackles are off, he retreats to the bed, back against the wall.

With a heavy sigh Mort drops the shackles to his desk before sinking into his chair. He leans back and scrubs a hand across his face. “Thanks for giving me a hand boys. Without you two this could have ended a lot worse.”

Fingers hooked under his belt Jess nods. “Couldn’t let you do it alone.”

With a slight smile Mort shakes his head. “Keep that up and I’ll find a way to make you my permanent deputy.” He looks between them. “On that, I’ve got another favor to ask.” 

His gaze slides to Slim. “I was wondering if I could borrow Jess for a few days. Carver needs to get back to Cheyenne and well, Ted isn’t up for it.”

Slim nods, bumping Jess when the other man chokes on a laugh. Ted is a good deputy, if nothing serious comes up and Mort is available. Beyond that, he can’t really be trusted with much else.

“Sure Mort. I can get by without Jess for a few days.” Slim ignores Jess’ huff of dismay, because he isn’t lying. He can get by without Jess, but most importantly it gets him out of town for a few days. Hopefully it will be enough time for the trapper to leave Laramie and it means he won’t have to worry about Jess sneaking off and doing something stupid.

Mort rests his hands on the desk. “Good. I want to get them on the afternoon stage. The sooner Carver is back in Cheyenne the better for all of us. I’ll go ahead and wire the sheriff in Cheyenne, let him know you’re on your way.” He draws his pocket watch out. “That gives you about an hour and a half.”

Slim rests his hand on Jess’ shoulder, squeezing. “Don’t worry Mort. I’ll have him back in plenty of time.”

He steers Jess out of the office, not fighting when the other man slips from under his hand and he doesn’t flinch when Jess turns to glare at him.

“Don’ think I don’t know what you’re doin’.”

Squaring his shoulders Slim calmly meets Jess’ gaze. He isn’t going to let Jess rile him up, not when he’s only acting in his best interest. “Well, since you aren’t being smart about this situation, I guess it better be me.”

Jess continues to glare at him before the fight seems to drain out of him. He rubs at his mouth before shaking his head. “Okay. You got me.” Dredging up a smile he gestures to his horse. “Gotta get him to the livery stable then I guess maybe get somethin’ for lunch before I get stuck with Carver until Cheyenne.”

Slim rests his hand on Jess’ shoulder, letting the touch linger, since it’s going to be a few long days until he returns. “I’ll at least get you lunch at the café.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t just about someone trespassing on the ranch. This is about Jess’ safety, his right and ability to roam over his home as he wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this update finds everyone well. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has read, commented and left kudos. I appreciate all of them and you are all wonderful people. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Dismounting Slim wraps the reins around the corral rail before he starts unsaddling his horse. Jess and Carver are on their way to Cheyenne, though the ride for Carver is going to be uncomfortable, with the way he was jumping every time Jess moved. Though at this point it is the least he deserves for what he did to the family in Cheyenne. 

Andy comes running out of the house, slowing and frowning as he approaches the corral. “Hi. Where’s Jess?”

“On his way to Cheyenne for a few days.” Slim unbuckles the chest strap, pushing it out of the way. “Mort needed him for a prisoner transfer.”

Andy scuffs his toe against the dirt, face falling. “Oh. I was going to ask if he wanted to go fishing.”

Straightening up Slim pulls Andy against his side, arm around his shoulder. “Don’t worry. Ask Jess as soon as he gets home and I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to go.”

Nodding against his side Andy glances up at him. “Okay. Did you get everything ordered?”

Slim ruffles Andy’s hair. “We did. Frank said it’ll be a week and you can come with when we pick it up.” His brother still has a bright, lingering fascination with Laramie despite the fact it is usually a sleepy town, but he isn’t going to do anything to try to make Andy like it less. 

He gently pushes him back toward the house. “I’ll be in shortly.”

Andy nods before heading inside.

\-----

The rifle shot rings out and Slim jerks his head up, hand dropping to his gun. He is a fair distance from the house, well in from the border of the ranch and there is no one who should be shooting up here. Jess isn’t due home for a few days yet and no one has been by asking for permission to go hunting. Worry curls in his stomach and he quickly unties the reins and climbs into the saddle. 

He might not have Jess’ senses, but whoever was shooting is close enough he has a pretty good idea where the shot came from. At the top of the hill he’ll have a good view of the surrounding area and he knows where the good hunting spots are in this part of the ranch. He has been out here with his father, Andy and Jess many times over the years and some of the best deer hunting around is in some of these small canyons.

Just before he reaches the top of the hill Slim drops from the saddle and ties his mount. He casts a look at his rifle before deciding it isn’t worth it. The last thing he wants to do is come across as hostile. He creeps to the top of the hill, making sure to stay behind the gnarled tree at the top.

Below him the nearest canyon spreads out and at the base of the hill he can make out a figure, leading a horse along the edge of the canyon. Slim has no idea who the man is, but he isn’t going to let him trespass on the ranch and he can only hope this encounter doesn’t end badly. Jonesy and Andy know he’s out here, but it could take them hours to find him if the man turns out to be the kind who doesn’t like someone butting into his business. 

Stepping out from around the tree Slim slowly picks his way down the steep hill, making plenty of noise as he does. He doesn’t want to startle the man into shooting. 

As he gets closer Slim can make out a tall, heavy form, clothed in buckskins and heat prickles under his skin, followed quickly by anger. By the time he reaches the man, who had stopped upon hearing him Slim feels like he’s vibrating with anger, like the smallest thing is going to make him come apart.

The man smiles, pushing back his hat. “Howdy.”

Slim stops a few feet short of the man, hands hanging loosely at his side. He rakes his gaze over the trapper, stopping at the man’s face and there is something not right about it. His smile is bright and friendly, but it doesn’t reach his eyes and that is enough to send a chill down Slim’s back. He shifts his weight, suddenly having a better understanding of Jess’ instant dislike of this man.

“What are you doing out here?” His mother would be despairing over his manners if she was alive, but Slim doesn’t care. This isn’t just about someone trespassing on the ranch. This is about Jess’ safety, his right and ability to roam over his home as he wants.

The man’s eyes narrow, but his smile doesn’t fall away. “Well, everyone in Laramie kept telling me the Sherman ranch was the best place to hunt around here. So when I saw the fence and the sign, I figured you wouldn’t mind if I did some hunting.” He jerks his hand back the way he had come. “Saw some cougar tracks back there and figured I could do you a favor by gettin’ rid of it.”

Slim feels his blood freeze and he can only hope it doesn’t show on his face. This man seems like the type who will jump on any weakness and he can’t show any. He glares at the trapper. “First, anyone from Laramie who hunts on this ranch asks for my permission, every year. Second, the people who hunt out here I’ve known for years and I don’t have any problems giving them access to my land. As for the cougar, it hasn’t set foot near the ranch house and has been leaving my livestock alone, so I don’t see any reason to not leave it alone.”

The trapper rocks back on his heels. “You know it’s only a matter of time until the cougar gets someone.”

Slim shrugs, trying to come across as nonchalant. “Then I’ll be the one to deal with it.” He squarely meets the other man’s gaze, though it sends a current down his spine. There is something not quite right about the man across from him and he wishes Jess was here, despite the fact it is much safer without him. “Kindly leave my ranch before I have to get the sheriff involved and have you arrested for trespassing.”

The silence between them seems to stretch out and Slim doesn’t move, not wanting to do anything the trapper might see as a sign of weakness. After what seems like a year the trapper finally looks away, drawing his horse closer at the end of his rein. 

“Alright. I can see I made a mistake.” The man mounts his horse and tips his hat, though his gaze is sill cold. “My apologies.”

Slim gives a curt nod but doesn’t speak. He doesn’t move until the trapper is long gone and he flexes his fingers, hoping to drive away the knotted tension in his hands and arms. Blowing out a breath he makes his way back up the hill to his horse, glancing over his shoulder as he climbs. 

After meeting the man face to face he wouldn’t be surprised if the man turned out to be a back shooter.

\-----

Slim has barely finished breakfast when Jonesy frowns, peering out the window near the stove. “Slim, looks like someone is has come to visit and it isn’t anyone I’ve seen before.”

Setting his napkin on the table Slim pushes back from the table and stands. Andy glances at him from across the table and he gestures for him to stay put. Slim exits the kitchen, leaving the door behind him open. Lately they’ve been keeping the scattergun inside the kitchen door and Jonesy is handy with it, if the need arises. 

He is hoping this isn’t one of those times and he isn’t surprised when he sees who the person on the horse is. He hooks his thumbs under his belt, wishing he had thought to grab his gun belt before coming outside. “I thought I made myself clear yesterday.”

The trapper smiles, still charming but now that Slim knows, he can see the raw edge to it, the dead, snakelike look in his eyes. “Well, I was thinkin’ that whole thing was because we got off on the wrong foot.” He holds his hand out. “I’m Gilbert Holden and I would like your permission to hunt on your fine ranch.”

Not moving Slim shakes his head. He’s aware of the way Andy is standing in the open door, Jonesy likely hovering behind him. “What I said yesterday stands. Set foot on my ranch again and we’ll be in to see Sheriff Cory.”

Gilbert jerks his hand back, hands curling tight on the reins. “That ain’t very kindly of you.”

Slim lifts his head. “I don’t care.”

The other man stares at him before cruelly wheeling his horse around, setting his heels to the chestnut’s sides.

“Slim?”

Feeling dragged out Slim turns to where Andy and Jonesy are leaning out of the house, worry written plain across their faces. He waves, shooing them inside as he strides for the house. Closing the door, he briefly leans back against the solid wood before crossing back to the table.

He drops into his chair, raising his cup and Jonesy quickly refills it.

Andy pushes his half-filled plate aside, leaning toward Slim. “Who was that?”

Slim takes a long drink of coffee, though it doesn’t do anything to make him feel any better. He still can’t shake the feeling Holden is the type of man who holds on to any offenses against him, no matter how slight and this is twice now he has gotten on the man’s bad side. 

Hand smoothing over the checkered tablecloth Slim sets his cup back down. “Gilbert Holden. A trapper who has been hanging around town.”

He looks between Jonesy and Andy, waiting for what he said to sink in, and it doesn’t take long. Not with the way Jonesy frowns and Andy’s eyes widen, dark with fear. “He trespassed yesterday and came across some tracks Jess had left some time lately. Wanted to hunt the cougar and I told him no. Figured maybe I would be more amenable today.”

Andy swallows hard, dark gaze going to the door. “But he- Jess isn’t really a cougar!”

Slim shrugs, curling his hands around the cup and locking his fingers together, hoping it will be enough to hide his shaking. “If he gets a bead on Jess as a cougar, it isn’t going to matter. All he cares about is his pelt.”

Looking queasy Andy pushes his plate further away and he leans forward. “What are we going to do Slim?”

“Hope he takes what I said to heart and stays off the ranch. I’m serious about telling Mort if he trespasses again. Jess will be home in a few days and I’ll tell him when he gets here.” Even to Slim his words sound unsure and he can only hope Andy can’t hear it. Unless the trapper does something else, there is nothing Mort can do and they’re going to be living in a constant state of worry until something changes.

Andy still looks worried and Slim reaches over, patting his arm. “Don’t worry Andy. Everything will be okay.”

\-----

Turning the last horse loose into the corral for the night Slim turns at the sound of hooves on the road and he can’t help but smile. He would recognize Jess’ horse anywhere, never mind the way his partner looks in the saddle. Closing the corral, he drops the loop before turning to wait for Jess.

Jess draws up in front of him, and swings from the saddle, pulling the reins with him. “Howdy.”

“Hi.” Slim frowns, stepping closer to Jess. There is a shadow of a bruise on his left cheek as well as a healing split in his lower lip and Slim pulls his glove off, gently touching his thumb to Jess’ lip. “What happened?”

Jess shrugs, a hint of a smile in his eyes. “Carver’s friends didn’ like him bein’ brought back to Cheyenne, so they thought to stop the stage. It didn’t last long.”

Slim drops his hand, not sure if anyone is watching from the house. “Long enough to hit you.”

“He got lucky. Supper about done?” Jess leads his horse towards the barn and Slim follows, grabbing a brush. 

Slim nods as he goes to the head of the bay, working free the bridle straps. “Should be. Andy has been in there helping Jonesy cook while I finished with the horses. Everything else okay in Cheyenne?”

“As well as can be. Had dinner with Annie, the little girl, and her aunt and uncle. They’re good people.” Jess removes the saddle, tossing it over the railing next to Slim’s, before laying his saddle pad out. “Glad to be home though.”

Running the brush down the horse’s side Slim smiles, though it doesn’t last long. “I’m glad you’re home too. Got a bit of a problem though.”

Jess pauses in brushing his mount’s other side and he pins Slim with a sharp look. “What happened?”

Slim doesn’t pause in his strokes as he looks at Jess. “The trapper was out here, twice. Name’s Gilbert Holden. First time he was just wandering around like he owned the place. He found tracks you left. Told me he wanted to deal with my cougar problem. I told him to get off our land. The second time he showed up, asking politely if he could hunt. Next time it happens I said I would get Mort involved.”

Shaking his head Jess frowns. “I knew the trapper would be trouble.”

There is something in Jess’ voice and Slim reaches across the horse’s back, hand curling over his partner’s, squeezing. “Jess, don’t.”

Jess smiles, not moving his hand from under Slim’s. “I ain’t going to do anything.”

At Slim’s surprised look Jess shakes his head. “Had a lot of time to think on the stage, before and after getting Carver where he was goin’. So far, the trapper ain’t done anything yet and I’ve got no intention of borrowing trouble. Unless he does something, I’m going to leave it alone.”

Hearing Jess say it makes Slim feel better and he squeezes Jess’ hand again. They’re still going to worry about the trapper, how can they not, with what Jess is, but at least he doesn’t have to worry about Jess doing something stupid. He releases Jess, going back to brushing his horse. “Just a heads up, Andy is going to want to go fishing.”

Jess finishes with a last pat to his horse’s neck. “We can go tomorrow, assumin’ the weather is good and the boss ain’t got a problem with it.”

Slim tosses the brush back into the bucket. “Well, since you’ve already gotten away without doing chores all week, what’s one more day.”

He curls his hand around Jess’ elbow, drawing him close. He brings his other hand up to cup his partner’s chin and leans down to gently kiss him, not wanting to break open the split on his lip. 

Pressing a second kiss to the corner of Jess’ mouth Slim pulls back. “Come on. Supper is likely ready, and Andy is going to be mad if he knows you’re home and hiding out here.”

Jess laughs, hand sliding over Slim’s stomach as he steps back. “Well, come on then.”

\-----

Slim slides the bag of sandwiches into his saddlebag before turning to look at Jonesy. “Are you sure you’ll be okay without us?”

Jonesy nods, waving his hand. “Oh, I’ll manage just fine. Besides, this gives me a chance to make more liniment without the three of you making faces the whole time.”

Jess snorts a laugh as he works at tightening the girth on his saddle. “Jonesy, that liniment would make a buzzard back off. Hard to believe you can still smell after making that stuff so much.”

An affronted look on his face, Jonesy plants his hands on his hips. “You listen here Jess Harper, that liniment will cure just about anything. Which you would know, if you ever used it!”

“No thanks.” Jess climbs into the saddle. “It smells bad enough when it isn’t on me. I can’t imagine how bad it would be if I used it.”

Jonesy flaps his hand, ignoring the way Andy is laughing and Slim is smiling. “Fine. You three get out of here and leave me in peace.”

Andy leads the way, chatting, mostly to Cyclone, and the palomino’s ears twitch back. Slim shakes his head. “That horse is a menace to everything except Andy. I’ll never understand it.”

“Would have had to do a lot less with fences if not for him.” Jess glances at Slim and they share a smile, because they both know Cyclone is going to stay on the ranch for all his life, or until Andy decides to do something with him.

\----- 

They reach the wide area in the stream where they usually fish and Slim ties his reins to a low branch. “Andy, do you want to find a few branches to use as poles?”

Andy nods and disappears into a copse of trees, pushing through the low underbrush. 

Jess pulls a few wound pieces of fishing line from his saddle bag, as well as a small leather pouch containing a few well used fishing hooks. “I’m glad the rain let up this morning.”

Slim nods as he takes the fishing line from Jess so he can start unwinding it. Andy had been upset when he had woken up to a light drizzle this morning, but it had cleared after a few hours, leaving the day clear and bright. 

Sitting on a rock Slim raises the line higher so he can get a better look at it. “I thought we had decided we were going to do a better job keeping these untangled?” 

With a shrug Jess nudges Slim over before perching on the rock next to him. He manages to pull a line free from the tangle and starts working the knots and loops free. “Last time we came fishing it started pouring rain, so we just grabbed the lines. Of course, they got tangled.”

By the time they have the three lines laid out, with the hooks on, Andy returns with three sticks, each gently curved with slight splits at the top. “Sorry. I had to go a little way out to find them.”

Jess takes one of the sticks. “I could hear you stumbling around the brush.”

Handing a branch to Slim, Andy sits at their feet, taking the line Slim is holding out for him. “Was I really that loud?”

“Only to me.” Jess finishes tying his line to the stick, making sure the hook remains well away from bare skin. “What are we using for bait?”

Scuffing his boot against the loose soil around the rock Slim reaches down, pulling a few small worms from the dirt. He holds out his hand, Jess and Andy plucking worms out, and Slim takes his own before dumping the rest back into the hollow. Once all three hooks are baited, they wedge them into the bank, hooks hanging in the water. 

\-----

Slim lifts his hat from his face, craning his neck to look at the fishing poles. All three are still lodged on the edge of the creek, and there aren’t any signs of fish being interested in the lines in the water. Not that they’re showing much interest in really doing any fishing. Jess is on his back, hat over his face, hands behind his head and Andy is stretched out between them, face soft with the first signs of falling asleep.

“Someone has a fish.” Jess’ voice is clear despite the fact his hat is still in place. 

Andy startles upright, twisting to look toward the creek and sure enough, one of the poles is bending, line dipping in and out of the water. He whoops and turns, diving for the pole. It isn’t much of a fight and a few minutes later he’s holding up a respectable fish. 

Smiling Slim pushes up onto his elbows. “I have some twine in my saddle bag so we can take it home for dinner.” As Andy runs for the horses Slim looks over at Jess, who hasn’t moved. “Are you telling me you heard that?”

“Yes.” Jess finally moves, lifting his hat and he smiles at Slim. “Didn’t sound like the rest of the creek.”

Shaking his head Slim watches as Andy comes back, deftly threading the twine through the fish’s mouth and gills before tossing it back in the water, weighing the ends with a big rock. His brother quickly rebaits his hook before tossing it back in the water.

He moves to sit back between them, though he casts a look at Jess. “Have you fished as a cougar?”

Jess nods and sits up, setting his hat aside like he knows where this going. “When I ain’t had a pole and been hungry.” Before Andy can say anything, else Jess starts unbuttoning his shirt. “This isn’t going to be a dry experience.”

Andy laughs as he settles on to his knees, body practically vibrating with excitement. “I don’t care!”

Shaking his head Jess pulls his boots off. “Fine, but I don’ wanna hear you complain about being wet when we ride home.” He quickly finishes stripping and tossing his clothing behind him changes, tail lashing the air. 

He pads to the water, a little above where they have their fishing poles, Andy scurrying to join him.

Slim moves back from the edge of the creek, not wanting to get wet. Jess is crouched at the end of the creek, tail resting in the grass, barely overhanging the water. Andy is on his knees next to him and looks like he’s in danger of going in headfirst into the water.

For a long time, it looks like Jess is going to spend the rest of the day staring into the water and Slim yawns, wondering if he can doze back off without the other two getting into trouble. He’s about to lay back down when Jess’ paw dips into the water and in a quick movement with a cascade of droplets, a fish is flopping on the ground, near the edge of the stream.

Andy quickly pounces on the fish, though it slips through his hands and Jess manages to pin it with a paw, claws digging lightly into the scaled side.

“Wow!” Andy pulls the fish from under Jess’ foot and hurries to where the other one is tied up. He adds it to the twine before rejoining Jess, who is already back by the water. “Do you think you can do it again?”

Slim laughs at the eloquent look Jess levels at Andy and it really shouldn’t be so easy to read Jess, but even as a cougar his face is expressive enough to clearly read. “I’m going to get the horses ready to go. If Jess keeps fishing like this, we won’t need to be out here much longer.”

By the time he gets the saddles back on the horses with girths tightened, Jess is dressing, and Andy is soaked, his hair plastered to his face. He smiles as his brother comes running over, bearing the twine with five good looking fish hanging from it. “Those will make a good dinner.”

Andy grins, looping the twine over the horn on his saddle. “They will. Jonesy will like having fish to cook.”

Slim pushes Andy’s hair back. “I think we all will. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of eating ham and beans.”

Nodding Andy pulls himself into the saddle. “I’m going to start home, so I can get these to Jonesy!”

“Jess and I will be right behind you, as soon as we get the fishing lines sorted out.” Slim watches as Andy disappears around the curve in the trail before heading back to where Jess is sitting in the grass, carefully untying one of the fishing lines. 

He sits next to his partner and takes another one of the poles, carefully working loose the knot holding the line to the branch. Coiling the line, he neatly wraps it around the barbs of the hook, hoping it will be enough to keep the lines from getting tangled. Next to him Jess is doing the same thing and Slim sets his line down before taking the third one. 

It takes him less time to get it done up and he hands it to Jess, who slips all three back inside the leather pouch, before knotting the thong tight. He gets to his feet, turning to offer his hand to Jess.

Pulling Jess to his feet he steps back, though he lets his hand linger. “We’re going to be behind on chores now.”

Jess squeezes Slim’s hand before letting go, and he bends down to pick up his hat. “Yeah, but it was worth it.”

Slim smiles as they walk back to their horses. “It certainly was.”

\-----

The acrid tang of blood and gunpowder fills his nose and Jess shakes his head, trying to clear the smell. Instead it settles in the back of his throat, thick and cloying and he scowls. He has a pretty good idea what is going on and he isn’t happy. Setting his heels to his horse Jess turns them in the direction of the scent. 

Reaching the top of the ridge Jess rides along it, hands curling tight on the reins. He is well in from the edge of the ranch, which means the trapper hadn’t taken either of Slim’s warnings to heart and Jess shakes his head. Slim can be a force of nature, but other times he tries to toe the line, and this seems to be one of those times it backfired. 

Luckily, Jess doesn’t have any such compunctions and he’s going to get the trapper off their land, even if he has to tie the man to his horse to do it.

The scent grows stronger and Jess sneezes, turning his horse and letting it pick a path down the steep hill. Below him he can see the trapper’s camp, the two horses tied off to the side. He reaches the bottom and walks along the edge, not doing anything to hide his presence. The trapper is going to know he’s coming. 

By the time he reaches the camp the trapper is already on his feet, though it doesn’t look like he is armed, with either a rifle or six gun. Jess wouldn’t put it beyond the man to have a derringer hidden in his coat and he can see a knife tucked through his belt. 

Jess doesn’t dismount as he reaches the camp, wanting to keep the advantage of being mounted. He can see several skinned-out coyotes, as well as at least one bobcat. Settling in the saddle Jess rests his hands on the saddle horn and leans forward. “Mister, you’ve gotten two warning already about stayin’ off this ranch.”

Holden smiles, thumbs hooked under his belt, close to the knife. “You must mean that big blond. I have to say, I was expectin’ a better reception from the people of Laramie.”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with the people of Laramie, we just don’ take kindly to people trespassin’. Especially when they’ve been warned off twice already.” Jess edges his horse closer. “I’m only givin’ you this one warning. I find you on the ranch again, I’m going to make you regret setting foot on it.”

He tips his head back, staring down the man. “Take what you killed and get off the ranch. I’ll know if you haven’t.” In a few hours he’ll come back out here and make sure the man has cleared out and he’s going to be thorough about it. They can’t keep having to worry about the trapper. Slim is already strung out about Gilbert Holden, and he doesn’t want his partner to keep worrying. They have enough problems without adding in something they can control.

Holden shifts, eyes narrowing. “You seem to be talkin’ mighty big.” His hand slides to his knife and he freezes, eyes going wide when he realizes Jess’ gun is on him, unwavering. He drops his hand, face going pale.

“Mister, keep that up and you’ll be ridin’ out of here with a hole in you.” Jess jerks his head in the direction of the two horses. “Get packing. I’ll make sure you get the hell out of here.”

He doesn’t move as he watches Holden start loading up the camp, tossing his furs and kills over the back of the packhorse, lashing the carcasses down with rope. The other man glares at him with every move and Jess doesn’t flinch, doesn’t move. He’s stared down worse than Gilbert Holden.

“Don’ forget to kick dirt over that fire pit.” 

With a disgruntled look Holden does as he’s told before crossing to his horse. He climbs into the saddle and grabs the reins of his packhorse. Turning in the saddle he glares back at Jess. “Happy?”

Jess grins, and he can tell there is an edge to it, with the way Holden’s eyes widen, the flicker of uncertainty that crosses the other man’s face. “I will be, once you get off our land. And I’ll be comin’ along to make sure you do.”

Holden gives a jerky nod before he nudges his horse into movement, pack horse trailing behind with a toss of its head.

Waiting until Holden is far enough ahead of him Jess holsters his gun before following. They’re at least two miles from the edge of the ranch and Jess glances skyward. At this rate he isn’t going to be getting home until before supper and he can already imagine how angry Slim is going to be when he finds out what took him so long. 

Not that he doesn’t have every right to be angry, and at least half of the anger Jess is feeling is on Slim’s behalf. This mess with Gilbert Holden is getting out of hand and Jess wishes Slim had let him start a fight with the trapper in town. It might have been enough to deter Holden.

Ahead of him Holden reins in and Jess fights the urge to go for his gun, instead rolling his shoulders. Adrenaline is running through him and he’ll be able to clear the saddle before the other man can turn. “Did I say you could stop?”

Holden turns in the saddle, though there is no movement in his arms. “I don’t know this land well and was thinkin’ it might be better if you were to lead.”

Jess snorts in derision, hands flexing on the reins. “Ain’t nothing between here and the fence off. Just keep movin.”

\-----

It is almost dark by the time Jess gets home and he feels wound tight. Despite Holden’s assertion that he wouldn’t come back on the ranch, which had rung false, he can’t believe this is the last time he is going to see the man. There is something weaselly about the man that makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up and makes him want to growl.

He hears the door open, but he doesn’t turn as he works at his girth. Being all day out on the range certainly hadn’t been how he had been planning on spending his day and now he’s tired, hungry and still more than a little angry. 

“Jess?”

Slim’s voice is heavy with warmth and worry and Jess sighs as he finally gets the girth loose. “Yeah.”

He looks at Slim when he feels the other man at his side and even with the setting sun, he can clearly see the pinch of worry between Slim’s eyebrows. Without thinking he reaches up and smooths his thumb over the wrinkle. “I’m fine. Just had a run in with that damn trapper again. Warned him off.”

Slim’s body goes tight with anger and Jess drops his hand, patting Slim’s chest before turning back to his horse. “He’s gone, for now.” He sighs. “Not that I’m thinkin’ it’s gonna do any good. The first two didn’t.”

“If this keeps up were going to have to get Mort involved.” Slim steps back so Jess can get the bridle off. “I don’t want to, but there is too much at stake.”

Jess nods, as he works the bridle free. “I’ll give it a couple days, check all the places it is easy to get on the ranch. Maybe threatin’ to put a hole in him will be enough to get my point across.”

That startles a laugh from Slim and he shakes his head as he lifts Jess’ saddle. “Maybe.”

“Let me have my dreams Slim.” Pulling the bridle free Jess nudges his horse toward the barn, following behind.

\-----

The sun feels good against his back and Slim doesn’t want to move, but he knows they need to. They’re stretched out on a flat rock near the line shack, blankets spread under them. He and Jess have been away from the house long enough Andy and Jonesy are going to start wondering where they got off to. He pushes up and glances at Jess. His partner is stretched out next to him, warm and loose, clad only in his pants, the fly still open.

Slim shifts, pressing a kiss to Jess’ shoulder, hand spreading across his side. He drags fingers along his stomach, smiling when Jess twitches under the touch. “We should really be getting back.”

Jess hums, pressing up into Slim’s touch. “Probably shouldn’t be saying somethin’ like that with your hand where it is.”

Laughing Slim moves further, kissing Jess hard before pulling back. “If I thought we could get away with it, we’d stay out here all night. We’ve got enough food in the line shack.”

Jess sits up, reaching for his shirt. “Don’t offer up temptation with stuff like that.” He rolls his shoulders before shrugging his shirt on. “Feels like we ain’t had time like this in a while.”

“Because we haven’t.” Grabbing his boots Slim pulls his socks out and gets them on before tugging his boot on. He grabs his shirt and stands. “Might manage again, when we come out here for the roundup.”

Jess pauses in tucking his shirt in, to level a look at Slim. “When we’re too dogged tired to do anything besides fall out of the saddle?”

Slim leans down to grab his gun belt and grins. “You just said time alone, not what we were doing during it.”

Snatching his hat up Jess puts it on before grabbing his belt. “Well, ain’t you funny.”

The look on Jess’ face is borderline petulant and Slim laughs as he reaches down to pick up their blankets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like this is going to be five parts and I'm still hoping to stick to my weekly update schedule.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He knows this is the area where Jess last encountered the trapper a few weeks ago and he’s been coming back on a regular basis, just to make sure Holden hasn’t shown up again. They haven’t seen any signs he has been on the ranch lately, but neither of he nor Jess is naïve enough to think this mess with Holden is over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read, commented and left kudos. You are all wonderful people and I appreciate all of them, and the time you spend reading my works. 
> 
> Well, I was silly for saying this was going to only be 4 or 5 chapters. No more predictions from me.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Are you sure Jess is out here?” Andy twists in the saddle, looking at the ground. So far, he’s done a good job of trailing Jess out here, though there have been a few spots where he had gotten lost in a tangle of old tracks. Overall, Slim is impressed with how well Andy has been doing, despite the fact they haven’t had a chance to come out with him lately for practice. 

Slim nods as he leans over to check the tracks. “Yeah. He said he was going to be out here for most of the day.” He knows this is the area where Jess last encountered the trapper a few weeks ago and he’s been coming back on a regular basis, just to make sure Holden hasn’t shown up again. They haven’t seen any signs he has been back, but neither of he nor Jess is naïve enough to think this mess with Holden is over. 

Holden is still in town, holding court in the saloon when he isn’t out trapping around town. There haven’t been any other complaints against him, and he doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave. Which is another reason Slim thinks things are going to come to a head soon, but he isn’t going to bite. Holden is going to have to make the first move to break this stalemate. 

“This way.” Slim turns to ride across the top of the ridge and it isn’t long before they find Jess’ horse. The bay is tied to a low branch on a tree and neighs when they ride up. Slim drops from the saddle, scratching at his cheek. A quick glance at the saddle shows Jess’ gun belt isn’t there, though his hat is hanging from the horn. 

Andy looks around. “Where is he?”

Stepping back Slim glances around, looking for a likely hiding place. “Not anywhere nearby.” He waves his hand toward Jess’ horse. “When he isn’t going to be around, he hides everything of value.”

Which is something else Jess told him not long after he had found out about what Jess can do. He had even taken him out one day, when they should have been fixing fences, to show him what kind of places he looked for to hide things in. Pushing his hat back Slim looks around the small copse of trees. 

There are several small snags of underbrush and he moves in a slow circle, eyes on the ground. It takes him a few minutes of looking to see the scuff of a boot in the fallen pine needles and tufts of grass. He follows it to where one of the trees has fallen over, propped up against two others, half the roots reaching upward. 

Going to his knees Slim pulls away a few loose bits of scrub to reveal a hollow from where the tree had been ripped free of the ground. He reaches in and withdraws Jess’ clothes, boots and gun belt. Shaking off dirt he gets to his feet and crosses to where the bay is tied to the tree, working Jess’ saddlebags open with one hand.

Andy frowns as he watches Slim tuck Jess’ clothing into his saddlebags before carefully tucking his gun belt in his own bags. “Are you sure we should take it?”

“It will be fine. Jess will know we’ve been here and that we took his belongings. He’ll come home and give us a bad time, but he won’t be mad.” He smiles at Andy. “Besides, aren’t you and he always getting in trouble for playing jokes on Jonesy? This seems fair.”

His words seem to mollify Andy and a smile breaks out on his face. “Yeah. I’ve been meaning to get Jess back for some of the jokes he’s done to me.” He glances around like he expects Jess to slink out of the underbrush. “I wonder where he is.”

Getting back in the saddle Slim straightens out his reins before grabbing Jess’. “He probably found something interesting he wanted to check out.” 

They had come to a decision the night Jess had come back from dealing with Holden, in the quiet of the barn, that they weren’t going to tell Andy and Jonesy about the trapper coming back again. Both are still worried about Holden, casting looks at Jess whenever he leaves the house and he’s been handling with it well. 

“Let’s head back Andy. Jess will be home when he’s ready and we still have some chores we need to get done before we lose the light.”

\-----

Entering the house Slim hangs his hat up, gaze going to where Jess’ hat and gun belt are hanging. Night is settling over the ranch, long shadows on the ground and Jess still hasn’t come home. He had spent most of the afternoon outside, working on corral fences and a hole in one of the chicken coops, not that they have a fox or coyote problem anymore.

The entire time he had kept an eye on the hill leading down to the house, half expecting to see an inky shape slinking down the hill. Had been expecting, every time he had his back turned to be borne to the ground under nearly two hundred pounds of cougar.

But the day had stretched out, with no sign of Jess returning home and now there is an uncomfortable coil of worry in his stomach. He would be worried about Jess anytime, but with Holden still in town, it takes on a whole new dimension.

A feeling Andy shares with him, if the anxious look his brother levels at him is any indication. He shakes his head and crosses to the table, ruffling Andy’s hair. “Jess likely is holed up somewhere safe for the night Andy. You have to remember, he’s as good at getting by as a cougar as he is normally.”

Andy doesn’t say anything, eyes going back to the catalog on the table and Slim sighs. Any other time he would go out looking for Jess, but with night falling he doesn’t want to risk it. Jess will be fine for one night, and he might very well be back later tonight. He could have ranged further out looking for traces of Holden trespassing and not realized how late it was getting.

Rather than asking Andy to set the table for dinner, Slim gets plates from the cupboard. He almost grabs four plates out of habit, and he stops, thumb running across the pattern decorating the edge. Setting the fourth plate back down he sets the others in a stack on the table before grabbing cups, forks and knives. 

A quick look at Andy shows he is staring at the front door and Slim’s worry grows. Holden isn’t the only danger out there and it is possible Jess fell into some other kind of trouble. He could be injured, unable to get home, with a broken limb or a piece of rock could have hit him.

Taking a deep breath Slim tries to tamp down on his unease. From here he can almost feel the worry radiating off Andy and Jonesy is frowning as he stirs the stew on the stove. Without Jess here the house feels hollow, in a way it didn’t a few months ago, when he was still home, just avoiding him and it makes Slim shake his head. 

He quickly starts setting the table and Andy jumps when he drops a plate, the sound filling the still air of the house. Biting at the inside of his cheek Slim moves slower, putting each plate down, taking his time in lining the silverware vertically next to each other. Any other time he wouldn’t be this careful, but it gives him something to think about besides the gnawing worry. 

\-----

It is almost midnight before Slim moves, reluctantly pushing up from the chair. The fire is burning low, mostly coals at this point and he spreads them out a little to give them a little more life. Hopefully if Jess comes home tonight it will provide enough light for him to make it to their room without waking Andy and Jonesy.

Not bothering to cover his yawn Slim can’t help but look at the door again. Even now he can’t help but hope Jess is going to show up, covered in burrs and a little upset, but whole. But the only signs of life outside are the sounds of crickets underscored by the call of a few nocturnal birds and Slim heads into their room. 

Shrugging off his vest he hangs it up and can’t help dragging his fingers down the fabric of Jess’ shirt. The worn blue fabric is soft, and he clenches at the sleeve, taking a deep breath, swallowing hard. He’s starting to understand better what his mother felt every time his father was injured Part of him wants to go out now, to look for Jess, but he knows it would be a terrible idea. 

There isn’t enough light for him to safely navigate the ranch and he would have more of a chance walking off a cliff than he would of finding Jess. Add in the fact he isn’t going to be able to find any traces in the dark and he knows he’s going to have to wait until the morning.

As a thought it doesn’t make him happy but Slim knows it is the smart thing to do. Jess would understand, would likely berate him for risking his neck in the dark like a greenhorn. With a heavy sigh he lets go of Jess’ shirt, fingers sliding off the sleeve. 

Slim undresses and blows out the lantern before climbing into bed. Concern sits on his chest like a rock and he rolls towards Jess’ bed. Even with the darkness it feels like he can see the other bed, like it has been burned into his mind, the neatly folded back quilt, Jess’ boots tucked under the edge where he had tucked them when he got home. 

“Damn it.” Scrubbing a hand across his face Slim squeezes his eyes closed.

\-----

Covering his yawn Slim enters the kitchen, where Jonesy is stirring a pot on the stove. “Any sign of Jess?”

Jonesy shakes his head as he gets a cup and fills it. “Haven’t seen a whisker.”

Slim sighs. “I’m going to go check outside. Maybe he came home and didn’t want to wake anyone up.” Which seems unlikely, since Jess can move cat quiet and could have snuck into the house without waking anyone, though Slim didn’t sleep much last night. It had been impossible, with the tight knot in his stomach, the worry clutching at him every time he had closed his eyes. 

Coffee in hand Slim goes outside, shivering against the chill morning. There is just enough light to see by and he keeps his eyes on the ground, looking for the scuffs of pawprints on the ground. The dry dirt doesn’t reveal anything and Slim opens the door to the bunk house. 

No one has been inside since Jess, when they had their little misunderstanding, dust clinging to the surfaces. He closes the door and slips into the barn but is met only with the smell and sounds of horses. The hair on the back of his neck stands up and he curls his hand tighter around his coffee. “Damn.”

As soon as the morning stage has come through, he’s going to look for Jess. He hadn’t slept well last night, gnawing worry keeping him up and even now he can’t shake the feeling something must be wrong. Jess knows this ranch and the only way he wouldn’t have come home last night was if he was physically incapable of it. He would have dragged himself home, rather than worrying all of them. 

Andy is already up by the time Slim comes back inside, his face pale, with dark bags under his eyes. He’s halfheartedly pushing his breakfast around on the plate and he looks up, a hopeful cast to his features. 

Slim shakes his head as he drops into the chair across from him. “As soon as the morning stage is gone, I’m going back out. See if I can’t pick up Jess’ trail and figure out where he is. Maybe I’ll come across him on the way out.”

“Why don’t you go out as soon as you get some breakfast in you? Andy and I can handle the morning stage.” Jonesy’s face is creased with worry and he grabs a plate, loading it up before handing it to Slim.

Andy nods. “We can! I just can’t help the feeling something is wrong with Jess. He never would have stayed out all night if he could have made it home.”

Once again Andy is showing how well he can read a situation and Slim manages a tight smile, though he knows it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Okay. Once I eat, I’ll head out.”

He sits down across from Andy, picking up his fork. Even with a plan, the idea of food isn’t appetizing, but he knows he needs to eat. He is going to spend as long as he can looking for Jess, every day if he has to. The stage will keep running, because they need the money, but right now, Slim can’t find it in himself to care if the chores fall by the wayside. The ranch isn’t going to mean much to any of them if they don’t find Jess or get some answer about what happened. 

Slim manages to finish eating, though he can’t say for sure what he ate, or what it tasted like. His thoughts are spinning in a thousand different directions as he tries to figure out the best way to go about his search. On one hand he wants to bring Jess’ horse, but on the other it will just slow him down and he doesn’t want to drag the bay all over creation and risk injuring it.

Hopefully if he does find Jess, they’ll be able to get back on his horse, or if worse comes to worse, he’ll find a way to get the wagon to him. He already has bandages in his saddle bag and there will be plenty of brush around to make a splint if need be.

Standing he hands his plate to Jonesy, who takes it without a hint of his usual friendly complaining. “You sure you got the morning stage?”

Jonesy nods. “We’ve managed without you before.”

Andy nods, his own food mostly untouched still. “We will.”

Slim nods and points at Andy. “Finish your breakfast. I’ll be back in time for the noon stage, so you two can go to town.” 

They’re getting low on most of their supplies and they have been putting off a trip for the last two weeks, but it can’t wait any longer. Both Jonesy and Andy move to protest, but Slim stops them with a raised hand. “You’ll go. It won’t do Jess any good if he comes back and we don’t have any food in the place. If I haven’t found him before then, I’ll go back out after the stage. You should be on the way home before the afternoon one.”

Rather than giving them a chance to argue Slim turns on his heel and strides to the front door. He grabs his gun belt and quickly puts it on, tying the thong before taking up his jacket, gloves protruding from the pockets. Shrugging it on he does up the buttons before pulling his gloves on.

It’s still cold enough outside he can see his breath and he strides for the barn. The tops of the trees are gilded by the rising sun, streaking clouds painted pink, but he doesn’t have time for the scenery. Grabbing his saddle pad Slim tosses, it over his horse’s back before setting the saddle down. He reaches under the chestnut barrel, grabbing the girth and he slowly tightens it, giving his horse a chance to get comfortable with the strap. 

As though sensing his need, his horse takes the bit without a fight and Slim quickly fastens the bridle straps, drawing the reins over pricked ears. He plucks Jess’ canteen from his saddle, wanting the extra water just in case he does find his partner. It could make a huge difference and at this point, Slim is willing to do what he must to find Jess and make sure he gets home safely.

Without Andy and Jess’ horse he can make better time, take trails that are a little harder, require more skill and it isn’t long before he approaches the corpse of trees where they found Jess’ horse and belongings yesterday. Dropping from the saddle Slim ties his horse to the same branch where Jess’ mount had been yesterday. 

From there he heads back to where he had gotten into the stash and he crouches down again. Slim recognizes a few scuffs from his own boots and the one from Jess, but beyond that he doesn’t see anything else. Moving slowly, he works his way out, over the matted, dry needles and grass until he manages to find part of an impression. 

It takes him a moment to trace the edge he can see, but it is clearly feline in origin. There is another print further toward the edge of the trees, in a bit of soft dirt, clearly a cougar and Slim knows it belongs to Jess. He loses the prints not far from the tree line, but it isn’t hard to follow the trail the other man took. There are small displaced rocks, a few bent stalks of grass and this is the direction Jess took when he escorted Holden off the ranch. 

Reaching the bottom of the hill Slim looks around, not sure where to go. He decides on heading right, as it leads towards the fence marking the boundary. It doesn’t take long before he starts questioning his decision as he hasn’t seen a single sign of anyone passing this way, save the reminder of a hoofprint, worn away by the weather.

Slim stops, pushing his hat back. The sun has been slowly rising, warming the air and his shirt is sticking between his shoulders. It feels like he’s hiked miles from where he came down from the hill and irritation is warring with his concern, even as apprehension prickles under his skin. 

By now he should have seen some sign of Jess, some hint of where he went. There is no way he just disappeared into thin air without leaving any signs. There haven’t been any further prints, no signs of blood. He starts backtracking, eyes scanning the ground, hoping he might see something he missed. By the time he reaches the hill he came down there aren’t any further signs.

“Damn it.” Jerking his hat off Slim scrubs a hand through his hair before starting back up the hill. He’s going to get his horse to cover more ground. It will be harder to find any traces of Jess, but he can’t waste any more time on foot. By now he should have found something, just based on the fact Jess was out here some time yesterday. 

With every passing minute Slim can’t shake the feeling something is very wrong.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today has been like that and Slim can only hope what happened with Holden wasn’t enough to sour Jess on Laramie and the ranch. This was supposed to be a safe place for Jess to roam and one man has managed to ruin it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read, commented and left kudos. You are all wonderful people.
> 
> Here we are, with the second to last chapter and while I hadn't intended for it to be this long, I think it makes for a better read.
> 
> Enjoy!

Save the chickens scattered in the yard there are no signs of life at the house and Slim dismounts, wrapping his reins around the top rail of the corral. Coming back, he had taken a different route than he had going out, hoping he might find something to indicate Jess had been headed home. Instead there had been nothing and he can’t help the mounting feeling of despair.

He could spend days searching the ranch for Jess and if he doesn’t get a break soon, it could be late. If his partner is anywhere seriously injured, it might only be a matter of time until he succumbs to his injuries. 

Slim kicks at the corral post, startling his horse, who tosses its head and he curses. Grabbing the bridle, he scratches at the chestnut’s cheek, until the horse settles, ears twitching. 

Backing away Slim enters the barn, going to the wall where the harnesses are carefully stretched over the pegs. He has maybe ten minutes to get the team for the stage ready and once the stage is gone, he’s going to resume his search. This time he’s going to start from the house and work his way out. At this point he’s desperate enough for anything and maybe Jess has gotten lost and is far from where he started yesterday. 

It doesn’t take Slim long to get the team in harness and he leads the horses outside, just in time to watch the stage come rolling down the hill. He waits until the stage has come to a stop before he leads the horses over. Handing the reins to Tom he quickly gets the old team unhitched and Kelly helpfully leads them over to the corral while Tom brings up the other team.

Slim feels like it takes forever before he gets the horses settled, leads and chains properly sorted out and he stands back as the stage heads toward Laramie. 

The last thing he wants is to waste more time, but the horses from the team need to be unharnessed and wiped down. Jess would never let him live down neglecting a team and Slim would hate himself if one of the animals came up injured. Sighing he crosses to the corral and works at unharnessing the team, wiping down each horse before turning them loose. 

There is plenty of water in the trough and a pile of hay the horses can get to. One of the horses goes to the pile of feed, which makes Slim realize how hungry he is. Breakfast was hours ago, and he has expended a lot of energy looking for Jess. He heads inside, smiling slightly when he sees the sandwich fixings Jonesy left of the table. 

Slim sits at the table with a groan, pulling the plate toward him. He feels battered and worn, like he has spent days in the saddle, never mind his mental state. His thoughts keep going in circles and he can’t help but think he is missing something. Jess couldn’t have just disappeared, yet there haven’t been any signs of what happened. 

Making a sandwich Slim slowly eats it. What he needs is help looking for Jess, but there isn’t any way to ask for it. Mort would help, as would most of town, but it isn’t even an option. Not without exposing Jess for what he is, and Slim will never do that. It isn’t his secret and there is no way to guarantee Jess’ safety, which is the most important thing. 

Slim makes another sandwich and eats it before getting up. He has every intention of staying out until it gets dark and he quickly cleans his mess up before heading outside. A few feet short of his mount Slim hears a wagon coming and he turns. It doesn’t take long before he can see it and he takes a step forward, a knot in his stomach. 

He doesn’t think he has ever seen Jonesy drive a wagon like that, and next to him Andy is waving and yelling though he can’t make out a word his brother is saying. 

They reach the yard and Jonesy reins in, but Andy is leaping out before the wagon has slowed much. He stumbles, hands on the ground but he jumps up, running at Slim. His face is pale, dark eyes wide with fear and he slams into Slim, clutching at his shirt. “SLIM!

The knot in his stomach twists tighter and Slim grabs Andy’s shoulders, as much to steady him as to make sure he is okay. “Don’t ever-“

“Slim!” Andy overrides him, fists curling into his shirt. “The trapper got Jess!”

Slim can only stare down at Andy as he tries to wrap his thoughts around what his brother said. The words finally start to make sense and Slim staggers back, dragging Andy with him and he feels lightheaded with shock, a rushing sound filling his ears. He tries to swallow, and he can’t, but he squeezes his eyes shut, not wanting to believe that Jess is gone. 

It is all too easy to imagine, Jess’ dark body strung up, blood pooling on the ground and Slim feels like he’s going to collapse, his knees going weak and the only reason he doesn’t fall is because he fetches up against the corral railing. 

The rushing sound in his ears finally fades and Andy is still talking, his face tight with worry and Slim shakes his head.

“And they had him behind the livery stable, but he was kicking up such a fuss it was making all the horses nervous, so they moved him to the other end of town.”

Slim takes a deep breath, raising one hand to quiet Andy. “What?”

Andy makes a face at being interrupted but starts again. “The trapper has Jess in a cage, on the far side of town. I wanted to go check on him, but Jonesy said we needed to come home, to let you know.”

Slim looks to where Jonesy is still in the wagon and the older man nods. 

“It’s true Slim. All of town is going on about it, the dark cougar Holden brought in.” Jonesy grins, and there is a bit of rarely seen hardness to it. “I bet he’s starting to regret taking Jess, with the way everyone was complaining about the noise he’s making.”

It doesn’t feel right, not when his partner is trapped in a cage, but Slim can’t help but laugh. He can’t say he’s surprised to hear Jess is making a nuisance of himself. There hasn’t been a single time they’ve been held at gunpoint that Jess has kept quiet and he seems to take pleasure in trying to rile his captors up.

The railing of the corral is digging into his back and Slim releases Andy, gently pushing him away as he stands up. “I’m going into town.”

He shakes his head when Andy moves to speak. “Alone. I need to see for myself, need to figure out how we’re going to get Jess back.” Catching Andy’s shoulder again he squeezes. “Don’t worry.”

Andy looks better, some of the tightness falling from his face. “Promise?”

“I promise.” Slim ruffles his brother’s hair, smiling at the scowl it gets him. “You’ll be able to take care of the evening chores?”

Puffing his chest up Andy nods. “Yes. Everything will be done.”

Slim nods and Andy steps back, giving him plenty for room to mount. He wheels his horse around and the chestnut leaps forward. His mount settles into a canter and Slim lets his thoughts wander. He is ecstatic to know Jess it alive and hopefully unharmed, but he is still in danger. Unless he can find a way to get Jess safely away from Holden, it isn’t going to mean much that he is still alive.

The ride into town feels interminable and Slim can’t relax, his body tight, hands aching from how hard he’s been gripping the reins. He still doesn’t have any idea how to get Jess away from the trapper, but he hopes it won’t come down to violence.

By the time he reaches the livery stable Slim can hear Jess’ caterwauling and he manages a wry smile. Despite the setting sun Slim can see the looks of irritation on the faces of the people he has known for years and he wonders how many complaints Mort has already gotten about the noise.

Stopping in front of the saloon Slim dismounts, wrapping his reins around the rail before heading inside. He stops at the end of the bar, not surprised to Holden against the far wall, surrounded by men from town and a few of the other ranches.

“Well, when I saw that dark cougar, weren’t any way I could leave. Them ladies back east pay good money for fine furs.” 

Holden’s voice is loud and Slim curls his hands into fists, biting back the urge to stride over and drag the man out of his chair. Spending the night in jail isn’t going to do anything to help Jess. 

Holden laughs. “But then when I saw the blue eyes, I knew I couldn’t just kill it. People will pay to see a dark cougar with eyes like that.” He leans forward, looking at the men around the table. “Any of you ever seen a cougar like that?”

Before he can do anything stupid Slim turns, leaving the building. He unties his horse but doesn’t mount, instead walking down the road, toward where Jess is being kept. Reaching the end of the road he leads his horse around the corner, dropping the reins. At least his horse is familiar with Jess like this and isn’t going to bolt. 

Slim moves slowly, approaching the cage and his anger blooms. The cage has thick bars, but it isn’t big, barely enough for Jess to turn comfortably in, forcing him to lay curled up, tail over his nose. Which is how he is now, a rough growl rumbling from his chest.

“Jess.”

The growling stops and Jess stands, pressing his face against the bars. Slim closes the distance and thrusts his arms between the rough wood slats, burying his fingers in the thick fur around his partner’s neck. He rests his forehead against the wood, can feel the huff of Jess’ breath against his throat. 

It takes him a minute to figure out what the weird vibration in his hands is and Slim can’t help but laugh despite the situation. “You’re purring.”

The lock on the cage is near his right arm and Slim turns his head to look at it, not wanting to take his hands from Jess. Even in the fading light he can see the lock is heavy and well made. The plate and loop are bolted to the cage and he isn’t going to be able to remove it without a fight. Shooting it off isn’t an option, as he doesn’t want to run the risk of injuring Jess and a sound of the shot would bring people running. 

Breaking it off would cause to much noise and would make problems with the law. When he frees Jess, he needs to have Mort on his side, which should be enough to keep Holden away from them. Slim rests his head back against the bars. “Will you be okay for the night? I’m going to talk to Mort, but he probably won’t do anything until tomorrow.”

Jess makes a sound and Slim decides he’s going to have to take it as assent. “I promise, I’ll be back here tomorrow as soon as the sun is up. You won’t have to be in here much longer.”

Heaving a sigh Jess turns his head, pressing into Slim’s touch, eyes falling closed. 

“I know.” His voice sounds rough to even his ears and Slim’s heart clenches. He doesn’t want to leave Jess like this, hates the thought of it, but there is nothing to be done. They need a plan, which he still doesn’t have and being this close to Jess it making it hard to think. “Tomorrow morning.”

With a last scratch behind rounded ears Slim reluctantly pulls away from the cage. Being found around the cage without Jess raising a fuss would raise a lot of questions he can’t answer. He watches as Jess settles down, tail over his nose, eyes almost lambent in the fading sun and Slim turns. 

He pulls the reins free and heads up the street, to the sheriff’s office. Removing his hat, he ducks inside, freezing when he sees Ted, who is in the chair, feet up on the desk.

Ted, seemingly heedless of Slim’s reaction smiles, feet dropping to the floor. “Slim, what can I do for you?”

Slim glances around, hoping Mort is going to suddenly appear, because Ted is going to be of no help. “Mort around?”

Grinning Ted holds his arms wide. “No sir. Went home for the night. He’ll be back tomorrow. You sure I can’t help?”

“Positive. Thanks Ted.” Jamming his hat back on Slim stalks out of the office, slamming the door behind him. He takes a deep breath, trying not to let his anger the better of him. It isn’t Ted’s fault he really isn’t much of a help, though honestly, Andy would be more help than Ted.

The thought of his brother gives him an idea and Slim pulls the reins loose before climbing into the saddle. 

\-----

Jonesy and Andy jump when he enters the house and Slim points at his brother. “Get your boots on Andy. We’re going into town.”

Andy rushes over to him, socked feet quiet on the floor. “Did you get Jess out?”

Shaking his head Slim gently turns Andy, pushing him back in the direction of his room. “Not until tomorrow morning, when we can get Mort to help, but I’m going to need your help too.”

Jonesy stands aside as Andy races passed him. “Is he okay at least?”

Slim grabs a cup from the sideboard and fills it with coffee. He can already tell from the smell it is bitter and overcooked, but right now he doesn’t really care. “As well as can be. The cage he’s in isn’t big. Which is probably part of why he’s making such a racket.”

Nodding sagely Jonesy grabs a plate and ladles some beans on it, adding a piece of ham to the plate before holding it to Slim. When the other man moves to protest, he wiggles it the spoon in his other hand. “Jess is as safe as he’s going to get for now. Sit and eat some supper before you go haring off because it isn’t doing to do Jess one whit of good if you fall over. You’ll feel better if you eat, too.”

He learned a long time ago it isn’t worth arguing with Jonesy when he gets like this so Slim takes the plate and sits down. The food does smell good and Slim starts eating as Andy comes over, his hat in hand. 

Andy leans forward, elbows on the table. “Is Jess really okay?”

Slim nods as he takes a drink of coffee and he can’t help but make a face at the way it tastes. “As near as I could tell, with the fact it was dark. He wasn’t acting like he was injured.”

“Was he still making a fuss?”

Slim slants a look at Jonesy, noticing the way Jonesy is fighting a faint smile. “Have you ever known Jess Harper to do anything else when he’s being held against his will?”

Jonesy looks thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I don’t rightfully think I do.”

Andy leans further across the table. “Are we staying in the hotel?”

Scrapping up the last of the beans Slim looks at his brother. “We’ll have to. I don’t think Mort would appreciate us taking up his cells for the night.”

Eyes going wide Andy rears back and he risks a quick look at Jonesy who just shakes his head.

Slim laughs and pushes back from the table, picking up his dishes only to have Jonesy whisk them out of his hands. “Thanks.”

Jonesy bobs his head but doesn’t look at either of them. “You two better get out of here. Going to be a long ride to Laramie in the dark and you’ve got an early morning ahead of you.”

Shooing Andy towards the door in the kitchen Slim grabs his hat off the hook. “We’ll be back well before the noon stage Jonesy. All three of us.”

\-----

Hal at the livery isn’t thrilled about being woken up, but he takes their horses. Slim can hear the older man muttering about the damn cougar, and Slim can’t really blame him. Jess had started up again sometime after he left town and from the sounds of it, isn’t going to let the people of Laramie get much sleep tonight. 

Slim rests his hand on Andy’s shoulder, propelling his brother in the direction of the stable door. “Let’s go get a room. The sooner we get some sleep, the sooner it will be morning so we can go home.”

Andy glances up at him. “Boy, he really isn’t happy, is he?”

“You’ll understand when you see the cage.” He squeezes Andy’s shoulder, glad his brother remembered not to mention Jess. It was something he had meant to mention while they were riding into town, but it had slipped his mind. He shouldn’t have worried though, because Andy has been acting surprisingly beyond his age since he found out about Jess. 

They get to the hotel and Andy looks around, eyes wide as Slim signs both of their names in the register. Accepting the key Slim catches Andy and gently propels him up the stairs to the second floor. Their room is on the corner nearest the end of town where Jess is being held and Slim opens the window. 

Andy sits on the double bed, bouncing up and down. “Wow, are all the hotels like this?”

Slim shrugs as he removes his hat, resting it on the dresser. “No. I expect some are worse than this and some are much nicer.” He locks the door before removing his gun belt, coiling the leather as he sets it down next to his hat.

With the window open they can clearly hear Jess and Andy pauses in pulling his boots off. “Do you think Jess is going to keep it up all night?”

Dropping into one of the chairs Slim pulls his own boots off, tucking them aside. There is a hole in the toe of his sock, and he sighs. “Maybe. There is no telling with him.”

Andy sets his hat on the dresser too and crosses back to the bed. He flicks the worn quilt and sheets back before climbing into the bed. Pulling the bedding up Andy wiggles down in the bed, turning to look at Slim. “Are you going to sleep?”

Hands folded across his stomach Slim stretches his legs out, sinking into the chair. “In a little bit.”

Andy looks concerned but he settles for bunching up the pillow and closing his eyes. 

\-----

Stretching to work out the kink in his back Slim smiles. It’s a good thing he spent the night dozing in the chair, as Andy has sprawled out across the bed, the quilt half pulled from the bed, the extra pillow thrown on the floor. Had he spent the night in the bed it would have been with a knee in his kidneys.

He pulls his boots on before crossing to the bed. Catching his brother’s shoulder, he gently shakes him. “Come on Andy. We need some breakfast before we talk to Mort.”

Andy curls up tighter, mumbling before blinking owlishly up at him. “Is it morning?”

Slim steps back, going to the dresser for his gun belt. He tosses Andy’s hat on the foot of the bed before putting his belt on. “It is.”

Andy sits up, scowling as he reaches down for his hat. “Did you stay up all night?”

Ducking his head Slim tries not to laugh. With the scowl on his face Andy looks like their mother but Slim doubts at this age Andy would find it as funny as he does. “No. I slept in the chair a little.”

Eyebrows furrowed Andy continues to glare at him as he slides to the edge of the bed to pull his boots on. “You shouldn’t have.”

Slim shrugs as he picks his hat up. He doesn’t have a good answer for Andy, not now. He knows he’ll crash hard tonight, once Jess is safe and home but until then rest is the furthest thing from his mind. 

Andy devours breakfast while Slim just has some eggs and ham and drinks two cups of coffee. From there they head across the street to the jail and Slim opens the door, stepping in, Andy following behind him. 

Luckily, Mort is sitting at the desk, a steaming cup of coffee in front of him and he looks up. “Slim. Little surprised to see you so early this morning.” His gaze drifts to Andy, who is standing in front of Slim, looking around the jail. “And with your brother.”

Pushing his hat back Slim sighs. “Well this isn’t something I could really leave until later. You know about the cougar?”

Mort’s face turns frustrated and he leans back in the chair, fingers laced together. “You mean that one that has been yowling all of yesterday and most of the night? I do. Do you have any idea how many complaints I’ve gotten about that creature?”

Slim winces, because he can imagine, if the looks he saw yesterday were any indication. “Quite a few, but the cougar is why we’re here. He’s our cougar.”

Mort looks dumbfounded for a few seconds before he leans forward, eyes narrowed. “Remind me if I’m wrong Slim, but a few months ago, you came in here all worried about a cougar on your ranch. Now, the cougar is yours.”

Hands on Andy’s shoulders, Slim pushes him forward. “Yes, but well, he’s more Andy’s than anything. He found him injured, near death and nursed him back to health. Now the cougar hangs around the ranch.”

Jess is going to kill him when he hears about this, but Slim doesn’t care, if it works to get his partner out of the cage. He’ll find some way to apologize to Jess later. 

Mort’s gaze slides to Andy. “Is that so?”

Andy nods vigorously. “It is. When I found out the trapper had the cougar, I had to rush home to get Slim.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose Mort pushes back from the desk. “Alright. At this point that’s all I need, especially if it will get that flea-bitten creature out of here so my town can have some peace.”

Together they exit the office, Mort flagging down Ted as the other man comes out of the café. “Ted, before you head home, find Holden, the trapper, and have him come down to where he has the damn cage.”

Ted nods and heads towards the hotel, while Mort storms down the street, Andy and Slim following behind him. 

The rest of town seems equally curious despite the earliness of the hour and by the time they reach the cage, it seems like half of Laramie has followed them. Slim just hopes Jess isn’t going to do anything when he sees how many people are around.

Jess stares at them, just the tip of his tail moving and Slim keeps Andy from approaching the cage with gentle pressure on his shoulder. If his plan is going to work, he needs more witnesses, wants everyone to get the full effect and he maybe it will be enough to get Holden to back down. 

People begin to mutter as they wait for Ted to return with Holden and Slim shifts his weight, widening his stance. Andy is full of nervous energy, practically vibrating under his hand and Slim squeezes his shoulder. 

Ted finally arrives, a likely still drunk Holden behind him, the trapper bleary-eyed and angry looking. “Sorry sheriff. Took me a few minutes to get him awake and moving.”

Mort nods sharply before pushing his hat back. “Alright Mr. Holden. It seems you have something that belongs to one of my residents.”

Holden blinks a few times and scrubs a hand across his face before swaying forward. His dark eyes dart between the cage and Slim. He laughs, the sound like a loud bray in the morning air. “That damned thing doesn’t belong to anyone. Damn near tried to take my hand off when I trapped it.”

He spins, looking around at the gathered crowd. “You all heard the way it carried on. Isn’t any tamed creature that would do that.”

Slim feels Andy tense and he pats his shoulder. “Anything would do that, if you took it from what it knows.” He steps back from his brother and thrusts his arm through the bar, scratching at Jess’ ears.

Stepping back, he gestures for Andy who rushes to the cage. He puts both of his arms in, framing Jess’ face and he leans into say something, low enough Slim can’t make it out. In a show of confidence, he smiles at Holden before moving back to Slim’s side. 

Holden snorts in derision. “Doesn’t prove anything. If it is used to you two, of course it isn’t going to attack.”

“Fine.” Slim’s gaze lights on Mort, who is watching, arms folded across his chest. “Sheriff Cory, if you would.”

Mort looks like he wants to argue but with a put-out sigh he steps forward. He puts his hand through the bar, looking surprised when Jess simply sniffs at his hand before putting his head back down. “Well, I’ll be.” He doesn’t say anything else, though he looks thoughtful as he steps away. 

Holden is still glaring and Slim holds an imploring hand out to Mrs. Johnson. She has lived in Laramie longer than he and Andy have and is the town matriarch. If he can get her on their side, the rest of the town will go with what she says. She lifts her chin, fixing him with a stern eye before taking his offered hand. 

She steps up to the cage, slipping her small hand through the bars. Jess, who avoids Mrs. Johnson any other time, rubs his face against her hand like a house cat before staring at Holden. 

Mrs. Johnson steps back, a hint of a flush on her cheeks. “My, that is likely the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done.”

That gets laughs from the crowd and even Mort is smiling, which Slim wants to take as a good sign.

Holden takes a jerky step towards Slim, all signs of drunkenness gone. “You can’t! I found that cougar fair.”

Slim steps forward, putting himself between Andy and the trapper. “On my land! Which you were warned off, three times.”

Mort steps forward, hand out to the trapper. “Let’s have the key. I think Slim has proven his point. Obviously, the cougar knows he and his brother and isn’t a threat to the people of the town. I’d say that’s enough.”

Holden scowls and Slim moves, hand dropping to his side. He doesn’t want any violence if it can be avoided, but if the other man tries anything, he isn’t going to let him get away with it. At this point he is over Holden and will only be too glad when he decides to leave Laramie. 

Digging in the pocket of his buckskins Holden gets the key out. He drops it into Mort’s hand, all the while glaring at Slim. “If this is how the people of Laramie treat visitors, I guess I won’t be coming through again.”

Mort turns, edging passed Slim and he unlocks the cage. Removing the lock, he swings the door open. Jess slinks out, pausing to stretch. He pads over to Andy’s side, turning to look at Holden and his lips skin back, baring his teeth in a silent snarl.

The sign of defiance is enough, and Holden’s eyes go wide as he takes a step back. It sends a skitter of whispers through the crowd, though no one moves, as Mrs. Johnson stands steady at the front of the crowd. 

Slim rests his hand on Andy’s shoulder. “You two wait here. I’m going to go get the horses.” He looks at Mort, who nods.

“Thanks Mort. I won’t be long.” With a last glare at Holden Slim starts up the road. It doesn’t take him long to get the horses saddled and he pays Hal. He settles in the saddle, gently tugging at Cyclone’s rein and the horse falls behind him.

When he gets back, most of the town has dispersed, leaving Mort standing with his back to the cage, arms folded across his chest as he takes in the scene. Jess hasn’t moved from Andy’s side, but he is starting at Holden, the tip of his tail flicking up and down. Holden, in turn looks a little uncertain, like he is just starting to realize something isn’t quite right with the prize he was so proud of taking.

Slim tosses the reins to Andy, who catches them and Mort steps forward to boost him into the saddle.

Once his brother is settled, Slim smiles at Mort. “Thanks Mort.”

Mort nods, his eyes going to Jess, who is standing next to Andy’s horse. “No problem Slim, but maybe keep a better eye on the cougar this time. I’d rather not get any more complaints.”

“Don’t worry Mort. You won’t see him around anymore.” Slim meets Holden’s gaze not surprised at the anger in the other man’s eyes. To Holden, Jess was quick, easy money and now that he’s been deprived of that, Slim is the easiest target for his anger. 

“Come on Andy. Let’s go home.” Slim turns his horse, Andy following and Jess slips into the space between them. As they ride through town a few of the tied horses start at the smell of Jess, but they all settle quickly enough once they are passed. Reaching the edge of town Slim settles into a fast walk, and Jess easily matches pace between them.

They are nearly halfway home when Jess peels away, disappearing into the trees along the road and Andy reins in, Slim a half second behind him. Frowning Andy glances at the stand of trees before slanting a look at him. “Where did he go?”

Slim shrugs. “He probably knows a quicker way home from here, one the horses can’t take.” He nudges his horse back into a walk, Andy hurrying to catch up. “Don’t worry. Jess will be home when we get there.”

They ride into the yard, dismounting by the corral and Slim wraps his reins around a rail, knowing he’ll have to go out later. He loosens the girth, scratching at his horse’s neck before straightening up. “Andy, will you-”

Andy doesn’t give him a chance to finish, though he has a put upon look on his face. “I’ll do my chores and what Jonesy couldn’t get done.”

“Thanks.” Slim heads for the house, entering through the kitchen. Jonesy inclines his head towards the shut bedroom door and Slim nods as he steps around him. He doubts Jess is going to want to talk right now, which is fine. He just needs a chance to make sure his partner is okay. 

He doesn’t bother knocking, knowing Jess will have heard him since he entered the house, if not sooner. Entering the room, he closes the door and leans back, taking a chance to look. Jess has drawers and socks on, though he hasn’t gotten much further. His hair is damp, curling slightly at the hairline. From here Slim can’t see a mark on his body and he doesn’t know what he would have done, if Holden had injured Jess.

Tossing his hat on the bed Slim crosses to Jess, stopping just short of him. He rests his hand on Jess’ shoulder, lingering for a moment before dragging his hand down, over the swell of his bicep and lower. Reaching Jess’ hand, he tangles their fingers together. His other hand sweeps up his partner’s back, taking in his warmth and the latent strength under his touch.

Even this simple touch is reassuring, and Jess feels the same, if the way he’s leaning into him is any indication.

Jess huffs a laugh, his eyes half closed as he looks at Slim. “My pride is the only thing that got hurt.”

Slim shakes his head, fingers combing through the damp hair at the base of Jess’ skull. “When Andy and Jonesy came home, saying Holden had gotten you-” He can’t say the words, because even with Jess safe and whole in front of him, it isn’t something he wants to imagine. 

Jess sighs, hands coming up to rest on his hips, fingers curling around Slim’s belt. “It was my own fault.”

There is more there, hidden in the tone of Jess’ voice but Slim stays quiet. Now isn’t the time and he kisses Jess, slow and sweet until they’re leaning against each other, taking comfort from the closeness. 

The front door slams shut and Slim laughs, forehead touching Jess’ before he pulls away, hands sliding from the other man. “And that would be Andy.”

Jess steps back, fingers pulling loose from Slim’s belt. “Guess I should finish getting dressed.” He frowns. “And eat somethin’. The trapper seemed to think I would look good with ribs stickin’ through my fur.”

Outside the room Slim can hear Andy asking Jonesy where they are and Slim backs away further. “I’ll see what I can round up for food, since we’re a long way from lunch and I doubt Jonesy left any breakfast.”

Andy is at the table when Slim closes the door and his brother looks up, leaning forward eagerly. Slim shakes his head, watching as Andy sighs, sinking back into the chair. He knows Andy means well, but he gets the feeling right now Jess needs a chance to exist without any pressure. 

By the time Jess finally comes out of their room, Andy is settled at the table with the catalog again and Slim has the sneaking suspicion his brother is making a Christmas list. Jess takes a seat across from Andy, smiling when Slim sets down a few sandwiches as well as a cup of coffee. 

His own coffee in hand Slim sits down. “The bread is a little stale. It was the last of the loaf.” Under the table he feels Jess’ leg against his own and he presses back. To all outward appearances Jess looks like his ordeal was nothing, but Slim can almost feel the undercurrent of tension running through him. 

Jess shrugs as he picks up the top sandwich. “I’m sure I’ve eaten worse.”

“Breakfast at the café was good.” Andy frowns as he stares down at the catalog. “Why doesn’t anything we make taste like that?”

Snorting Jess picks at the crust of his sandwich. “None of us have got the patience to learn how to cook like that.”

Slim waves at the cupboard in the corner. “We still have some cookbooks in there. You could give it a go Andy.”

A horrified look crosses Andy’s face and he snatches at the catalog, slipping from the table. “No! I’m going to go feed the chickens.”

Jess laughs, some of the stress falling away from his face.

\-----

Andy is already in bed and Jonesy is dozing by the fire, leaving he and Jess to clean up from dinner. Slim darts a quick look at his partner as Jess dries a plate, frowning, the line of his shoulders tight. It had been like this all day, reminding him of how things had been when Jess had first come to Laramie and the ranch. The way he had never seemed to relax completely, no matter what, the way his sharp gaze would drift to the road, like he was expecting someone to ride up and call him out at any moment. 

Today has been like that and Slim can only hope what happened with Holden wasn’t enough to sour Jess on Laramie and the ranch. This was supposed to be a safe place for Jess to roam and one man has managed to ruin it. 

Rinsing another plate Slim hands it to Jess, but doesn’t let go, even once the other man has a good grip on it. Their fingers are touching and Jess looks at him, finally smiling and only then does Slim let go of the plate.

With a groan Jonesy gets out of the chair, hand going to his back as he walks to his room.

“Slim.”

Poking his head around the divider Slim sees Jonesy lingering near the door to his room. The older man jerks his head in a come-hither movement and Slim dries his hands as he crosses to Jonesy.

With a quick look around Jonesy holds out his bottle of whiskey, leveling a look at Slim. “For medicinal purposes.”

Jess must be more on edge than he thought if Jonesy is willing to offer up his whiskey. Slim takes the bottle. “Thanks Jonesy.”

Jonesy nods before closing the door.

Crossing back to the table Slim set the bottle down with a clunk that catches Jess’ attention.

He turned from putting the last of the dishes away, a wry smile pulling at his mouth. “Must be bad, if he got the medicinal stuff out.”

Pulling a chair out Slim drops into it and scrubs a hand across his face. “It hasn’t been good.” He looks at Jess, who hasn’t moved. “Not that I blame you.”

Jess rolls his shoulders and sighs before getting two cups. He sits across from Slim, taking the bottle and splashing some whiskey in both before sealing the bottle. Hands curling around the closest mug he looks at the tablecloth. “I ain’t going anywhere.” He sighs again. 

“I just can’t shake the feeling, like the cage is still closing in.” He glances up at Slim. “I haven’t ever had to explain, since no one but you has ever known. But cages like that.” A shiver runs through Jess and he frowns. “Being trapped like that was something I learned to not like a long time ago. No way out, without makin’ a bigger mess for myself.”

Slim doesn’t speak, leaving his cup untouched on the table between them. He doesn’t want to do anything to interrupt what his partner is saying. Jess being this open so early after the ordeal isn’t something he had expected, not with how reticent he has been about other things in his past. 

Fingers drumming on the table Jess shifts in the chair. “I shouldn’t have, but I was out roaming. Down near where I took the damn trapper off the ranch. There was a smell, rotting meat and blood and somethin’ sweet over the top of it. I was curious, wanted to know what it was.”

He sighs. “I got down near the fence but still couldn’t figure it out. Was so busy tryin’ to find the smell I didn’ feel the noose around my foot. Tightened down and I couldn’t get loose. I was going to change to get out, but I heard him coming.”

With a sharp shake of his head Jess lifts the mug and downs the whiskey. He sets the cup back down and gives a considering look at the bottle, but he doesn’t reach for it. “I don’t know what Holden doused himself with, but he didn’t smell like a man. He had his rifle on me, and I knew he was going to shoot, until he saw me.”

Slim finally moves, reaching across the table to curl his hand over Jess’ forearm. It feels like a band of iron under his touch, but he doesn’t relent. He can only imagine what it felt like for his partner, to have Holden bearing down on him with a rifle, knowing there wasn’t anything he could do to escape. 

He clears his throat. “I looked for you. When you didn’t come home that night. I went out, to where you had found Holden, but I didn’t go all the way to the fence. You didn’t leave any prints.”

“I was careful not to.” Jess closes his eyes. “I didn’t want to; in case he was still wandering around. He didn’t need any hints as to what was goin’ on.”

That knowledge doesn’t make Slim feel any better and he leans forward, fingers pressing against Jess. “I should have looked harder.” Feeling angry he shakes his head. “You wouldn’t have given up.”

“Hey.” Jess twists his arm, pulling back to catch Slim’s hand and he squeezes hard, his eyes bright as he mimics Slim, closing the distance. “I’ve also got a lot more tricks up my sleeve that would make findin’ you easy.”

He presses his leg against Slim’s. “No matter what, I’ve got your scent burned into my memory.”

“What happened after that?”

Jess sinks back but doesn’t release Slim. “He got a rope about my neck and managed to hobble me. Dragged me back to town, riding like he was the king of something. Had the cage waitin’ the door standing open. Shoved me in there with a stick and locked it before goin’ to the saloon I’m sure.”

He strokes his thumb over Slim’s hand. “I knew you would find out. One of the stage drivers would have said something, or you would come into town.”

Slim nods, gaze caught on the gentle sweep of Jess thumb. “Andy and Jonesy went to get supplies when they heard you. They came rushing back, which means we don’t have anything beyond what we have out here.”

“I guess we’ll have to go back in.”

The steady movement of Jess’ touch is soothing but Slim doesn’t let it distract him. “You aren’t going into town if all you mean to do is start a fight with Holden.” The words are out before he has a chance to think and Slim tenses, half expecting a retort from Jess. He has never sought to stifle his partner’s movements and he hadn’t meant to imply he was trying to now.

With a soft laugh Jess shakes his head, not stopping his touch. “Honestly, I would be okay with never seeing Gilbert Holden again.”

It wasn’t the response Slim was expecting but he settles for not speaking. If Jess isn’t going to seek revenge for what happened, he isn’t going to do anything to change his mind. Instead he’s going to sit here, enjoying the peace, the fact Jess is safe, whole, and back where he belongs.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess’ head comes up, seconds before a bullet lodges in the doorframe near Slim’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read, commented and left kudos. This is the greatest small fandom ever!
> 
> Well, here we are, finally at the end. I again had plans to have this chapter done sooner, but I wanted to make sure it was just right. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Weak sunlight floods the room and Slim sighs, scrubbing a hand across his face. He had slept soundly last night, with Jess tucked safely in his own bed.

A groan from Jess makes him move and Slim rolls over, smiling when he sees the way Jess has the pillow pulled up over his head. “You don’t have to get up, if you don’t want to.”

Jess shakes his head before moving the pillow. “Don’ really feel like laying here thinkin’. Better if I do something helpful.”

Slim throws his blanket back. “Oh good. Cyclone broke a post on the corral, at least one shoe needs to be replaced and there are a couple hooves that need to be trimmed. Firewood needs to be chopped and I’m sure there is more to be done.”

“I should’ve known.” Jess drops the pillow above his head and sits up. With a wince he rubs at his right shoulder. “I think bein’ curled up in that cage for as long as I was didn' do my shoulder any favors.”

Slim frowns. “Do you want something for it?”

Grinning Jess shakes his head. “If I can’t work the knot out today, yeah.”

“Don’t think I won’t hold you to that.” Slim points at his partner. “It doesn’t do either of us any good if you end up hurting yourself worse by being stubborn.”

\-----

Coming out of the barn Slim stops, gaze going to where Jess is splitting wood. His partner has already got quite a bit of wood stacked against the side of the house, but he seems intent on finishing the pile. So far there hasn’t been any signs of a hitch in the swing of the axe, but Slim wouldn’t put it beyond Jess to be hiding it from him.

The horse nudges his shoulder and Slim leads it further out, tying the lead around the corral rail. “Jess, come hold his head, would you.”

Jess buries the axe head in the stump before making his way over. Rubbing his hand against his thighs he catches the horse’s head, scratching at the blaze down its nose. “New shoe or trimming?”

Stepping to the back foot Slim lifts it. “I’m not sure. I just now noticed he’s been moving odd yesterday and today. Luckily, Andy and Jonesy kept him off a team.” Stepping over the bent leg he pins it between his knees and runs his fingers along the inside of the hoof. 

From there he moves out, checking the nails and finds a few loose, the shoe pulling away. Slim drops the foot and moves away, turning to look at Jess. “A new shoe. We’ll have to get the forge going.”

With a last pat to the horse’s nose Jess releases his head. “I’ll get it going. Might take you some time to find a shoe that will fit.”

Slim winces as he heads into the barn, knowing Jess is probably right. They keep a supply of horseshoes on hand, but like many other things around the ranch, they aren’t always organized.

\-----

The slight breeze that has kicked up feels good and Slim turns his face into it. After reshoeing the horse they had trimmed the hooves of three others and replaced the fence post Cyclone had broken. His shirt is sticking to his back and it feels like they’ve done a day’s worth of work despite the fact it isn’t quite noon yet.

On the upside, all the work seems to be doing Jess some good, as the hunted look has fallen from him and he looks more relaxed than he had been yesterday. It makes warmth bloom under his skin that has nothing to do with the weather and he catches Jess’ arm as his partner closes the corral after letting the last horse loose. 

Jess turns to look at him, a questioning look on his face. 

Slim tugs and Jess moves closer, staying quiet though Slim is sure he wants to ask. Sliding his hand up Jess’ back Slim presses against his partner’s right shoulder, waiting for any sign of pain from the other man. There isn’t anything but he doesn’t drop his hand, taking the opportunity to touch. 

Jess grins. “I told you it would feel better after some work.”

There is no sign of deception on his face and Slim loosens his grip on Jess’ arm but uses the hand on his back to push him in the direction of the house. “Fine. Let’s take a break before we get the team for the noon stage hitched up. Plus, Andy and Jonesy should be back from town soon and we’ll have to unload the wagon.”

Laughing Jess arches his back, pressing his shoulder into Slim’s touch. “I might’ve just felt a twinge or something.”

“I’ll give you something.” Slim lightly drags his fingers down the back of Jess’ neck, watching as he shivers.

Jess twists away, hand going to the back of his neck. “Hey!”

Slim shrugs, grinning as he heads for the house, Jess hurrying to keep up with him. Despite the outside heat the house is still comfortably cool and Slim drags his forearm across his face. “I can’t believe how warm it is already.”

Jess pauses in filling two glasses. “Means we’re goin’ to be in for a rough winter.”

“We have enough to worry about before winter comes, so maybe we shouldn’t go borrowing trouble ahead of time.” Slim accepts the glass Jess holds out, the glass cool against his fingers. 

Canting his head to the side Jess stares at the door, frowning. He shakes his head before looking at Slim. “Stage coming in.”

Slim looks from his drink to the clock. “Running early. Must be trying to make up time.”

Jess drains his glass and sets it on the table. He rakes a hand through his hair. “Shouldn’t have to, if Mose is driving. Every stage would be early if they had more than one of him.”

Finishing his own water Slim sets his glass next to Jess’ before heading toward the door. “Come on.”

They barely have the team in harness as the stage pulls into the yard and Jess grins as he nudges Slim. “Should have bet you it was Mose.”

Shaking his head Slim leads the horses to the stage. “I don’t see any reason to bet on a sure thing.”

Mose climbs down from the stage, pressing his hands into the small of his back. “Hiya, Slim, Jess. You two hear about what was going on in town yesterday?”

Jess looks up from unhitching the team. “What happened?”

Laughing Mose look at him. “The craziest thing. Some trapper had a cougar.” He turns to look at Slim. “And then I find out you said it was yours.” Leaning in his voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper. “How come I ain’t ever seen a cougar around here?”

Slim glances at Jess and though he can’t tell for sure, he thinks his partner is laughing at the predicament he is in. “Well, he’s kind of shy, and we don’t see him that often either.”

Jess coughs, getting a worried look from Mose but he keeps his face averted as he leads the old team away from the stage and Slim moves quickly to take his place. At this point he wants to get Mose out of the yard as fast as possible, before this all goes sideways.

It doesn’t take him long to get the new team hitched up and Slim steps back. “Alright Mose, you’re good.”

Mose climbs back into the box, gathering the reins up before looking at them. “I didn’t even know cougars came that color.”

As the stage pulls away Jess frowns in thought before turning to look at Slim. “I don’ think anyone has ever said I was shy.”

Slim can’t help but laugh because Jess is right. Shy isn’t a word he would have used to describe him, because all he can think of is when he met Jess, brash and self-confident, even with a rifle pointed at him. That should have been his first hint of what was going to happen between them.

He slides his arm around Jess’ shoulder, drawing him in. “Shy was the best thing I could think of, unless you wanted to disappear to come back so Mose could coo over you.”

Jess pulls a face. “No.”

The horses are still milling in the yard, dragging traces, one wandering toward the trough and Slim nudges Jess. “There are still chores.”

“Well, the wood box does need to be filled.”

Nearly half an hour later Jonesy and Andy return, the back of the wagon piled high with goods. Slim looks up from stacking the last of the wood against the side of the house. “It looks like they bought the entire general store.”

Jess groans as he tucks the axe under the overhang. “Which means it’s going to take us twice as long to put away.”

Andy jumps out of the wagon. “Hi!”

Slim and Jess cross to the wagon, Slim stopping near the seat. “I hadn’t realized we were laying in for winter already.”

Tying the reins around the brake Jonesy leans back, pressing a hand to his back. “You might not notice, but we were scrapping the bottom of the barrel on a lot of staples. Plus you said I could.”

Jonesy reaches into the back of the wagon and pulls out a small bag. He holds it out to Andy. “Take this inside would you Andy and put it on my bed.”

Taking the bag Andy glances between the three of them, with a suspicious look, like he knows they’re going to talk about something they don’t want him to know. When he doesn’t move, Jess reaches around Slim, fingers brushing his shoulder. “Scoot.”

“Fine!” Andy stomps inside, though at least he doesn’t slam the door.

Jonesy leans toward them. “Mort came around while we were getting the wagon loaded. Turns out Holden is still in town.” His face is serious when he looks at Slim. “He spent all day drinking and this morning. He’s been spending most of his time cursing you. The sheriff can’t do much, because he isn’t causing trouble, but he wants you to know. Don’t know if he’s going to do anything, but Mort wanted you to be on guard.”

Slim and Jess exchange a look and Jess shrugs. “It was somethin’ we were goin’ to have to deal with. A man who ignores three warnings against trespassing ain’t someone who is going to give up easily.”

Nodding Slim’s gaze drifts to the road leading into town. “We’ll just have to keep an eye out for him, hope he gets tired of waiting around and moves on.”

Next to him Jess snorts in derision. “Ain’t likely, but if it comes down to it, Holden ain’t getting’ one over on me again.”

Before Slim can say anything, Andy is back outside and they start unloading the wagon.

\-----

Andy is leaning against Jess, head on his shoulder, nearly asleep and Slim shakes his head. He stands, turning to offer his hand to Andy. “Come on. I think it might be a good idea for everyone to get some sleep.”

Jess shifts his shoulder; jostling Andy and he grumbles before sitting up. He blinks up at Slim and takes the hand. “What?”

Letting go of Andy’s hand, Slim hauls Jess to his feet. “Bedtime. You were about to fall asleep against Jess.”

“Was not.” Andy moves under Jess’ gentle push, pulling open the front door. The fire has already burned down, leaving the faint light spilling from the open doors of the bedrooms the only illumination visible. 

Jess steers Andy in the direction of his room. “Good night.”

Yawning Andy waves back at them before closing the door.

Slim checks the doors before heading for their room, where Jess is standing in the doorway, waiting. He gently backs his partner into the room before closing the door, but he doesn’t step away. Hand curling over the back of Jess’ neck he looks at him. “Do you honestly think Holden is going to try something?”

Jess sighs. “Seems likely. He got three warnings and ignored all of them. Don’t seem like a reasonable man to me. Especially not with the way he was eyeing you in town.”

Even now, weeks later Slim can remember the odd coldness to Holden’s eyes the first time they had met, and he shakes his head. “No, he doesn’t seem that way.” He drops his hand, fingers skimming down Jess’ back. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Jess frowns as he starts unbuttoning his shirt. “I hate waiting.”

The feeling is mutual, but Slim knows they can’t instigate anything without getting hung up with the law. As much as they don’t like it all they can do is sit and wait to see if Holden decides to come after him.

\-----

By unspoken agreement they don’t saddle their horses the next morning and start on morning chores before moving on to other things. The morning stage has already come and gone, which leaves them with repairs. The kitchen door has been scraping against the floor, leaving scuff marks, to Jonesy’s dismay and he’s been dropping hints about getting it fixed.

Hands on his hips Slim stares at the door. “I think if fix the hinges it should fix the problem.”

Jess comes up next to him, toolbox in hand. “You sure it isn’t the door? The damn thing is likely to be warped.”

Slim tips his head to the side, trying to see what Jess is talking about it. To him the door looks like it always has, and he shakes his head. “You better hope it is just the hinges. Do you want to make a new door?”

“No.” Jess sets the tools down, his gaze wandering to the road from town. “Be easier if it was the hinges.”

It is obvious Jess is worried about Holden making an appearance and Slim can’t really blame him. He feels the same way, on edge and hyped up, like there is a storm front waiting to break over the ranch. Even Andy seems to be feeling it, if the way he was so quiet at breakfast this morning was any indication.

Slim rubs at the back of his neck. “Check the hinges first?”

Jess nods, looking back at the door, his face tight with tension. “Might as well.”

The top hinge is indeed loose, and it doesn’t take them long to get it tight, without smashing any fingers. Jess jiggles the bottom hinge and looks at Slim. “Fine, it was the hinges.”

Andy comes around the side, stopping between them. “Jonesy wanted to know if you were done making a racket.”

Slim looks down at this brother. “We wouldn’t be making one if he hadn’t gotten all worked up about it in the first place.”

Jess’ head comes up, seconds before a bullet lodges in the doorframe near Slim’s shoulder. 

Slim acts on instinct, grabbing Andy and pulling his brother in front of him, shielding him from any further shots. With an almost snarl Jess throws the door open and Slim half picks Andy up, carrying him into the house, nearly bowling over Jonesy in his haste.

Jess follows, slamming the door closed and they all duck as another bullet shatters the window in the door.

Slim doesn’t move, can’t really with the way Andy is clinging to him, his face pale, eyes big. Across from them Jess is vibrating with anger as he glares at the door and Jonesy is frowning, pressed back against the wall. 

He shifts, gently prying Andy’s hands from his vest. “Jonesy, you and Andy go to his room.”

Jonesy nods, and catches Andy’s wrist and they carefully make their way to the other side of the house, staying low.

The moment he hears the door close Slim gets to his knees and shuffles over to Jess, hand going to his partner’s shoulder. It feels like there is rock under his hand and he squeezes, hoping Jess isn’t planning on doing anything stupid.

“Holden.” Jess’ voice is rough, more growl than anything and it sends a shiver down his spine despite the fact it isn’t aimed at him. Slim doesn’t think he’s ever heard Jess sound like this.

Slim glances at the door, as though he can see through it. “Are you sure?” He has no idea why he’s asking. There isn’t anyone else with reason to be trying to murder him in his front yard.

Jess gives a sharp nod. “I can smell the death and blood from here.”

A third shot breaks the window to the right of the door and Slim looks at Jess. “He could keep us pinned all day.” There are still a couple hours until the noon stage comes through and Slim doesn’t want any innocents caught up in this.

Jess shifts under his touch, the movement tight and controlled. “I got one idea.”

He slants a look at Slim. “Can you cover me?”

Slim nods. Their rifles are leaning against the fireplace, where they had left them the night before, after they got done cleaning both. Realization hits him and he tightens his grip on Jess’ shoulder, shaking him slightly. “Jess.”

With a quick look Jess shakes his head. “I ain’t going to savage him, though it might teach him a lesson.”

The knot in his stomach eases and Slim drops his hand in a lingering touch. That would be the last thing they would need to explain to Mort. “Alright. Do you know where he is?”

“Across the yard, between the rock and tree. He’s right tucked in there.” Jess jerks his head at the door. “I’m gonna go behind the barn. Just keep him too busy to worry about anything else.”

Slim gets to his feet but doesn’t stand. “Let me get the rifles loaded and tell me when.”

He eases around the divider and grabs both rifles. It only takes him a few seconds to get both loaded and he carefully makes his way to the front window. He eases it open, hoping Holden is more focused on the kitchen door than the rest of the house. 

Kneeling on the couch Slim settles the rifle against his shoulder, taking a bead on the rocks. From here he can see a flash of buckskins and knows if he manages to hit Holden it is just because he’s lucky. “Jess?”

“Go ahead.”

He hears the door opening and his first shot is enough to make Holden jump and Slim fires again before ducking down as a bullet hits the window frame. A second one breaks the window and he feels a flash of pain but ignores it, firing a third shot. 

He fires a fourth shot before stopping and he can only hope he gave Jess enough time to get into cover. Counting ten seconds he fires again, wincing when it kicks up a plume of dirt in front of where Holden is hiding.

Slim discards his rifle and picks up Jess’, from where it is on the couch next to him. He isn’t sure what Jess did to his rifle, but it always feels like it aims high, though his partner never has any problems with it. His first shot ricochets off the top of the rock and he accordingly lowers his aim. 

By now Jess should be away from the barn, hopefully crossing the hill to get to the road and Slim fires again. As he watches he sees Jess slide down the slope, moving quickly and he fires two more shots, hoping it will be enough to keep Holden distracted. 

Jess slips between the slats in the fence, crouching down as he creeps down the pasture and Slim fires again before dropping into cover, reaching for his rifle and box of cartridges on the couch. Hoping Holden didn’t see Jess, he quickly reloads his rifle and is absurdly pleased when a bullet rips through the curtain above his head, if only because it means Holden is still focused on him. 

When he looks out the window Jess is nowhere in sight and Slim fires another round, intent on keeping Holden’s attention. A bullet tears through the shrubs in front of the porch followed by a second that never seems to hit the house and it takes Slim a moment to realize the shot wasn’t aimed at him. 

Fear coils ugly in his stomach and he slides from the couch, slowly opening the front door. Eyes going to the rock he waits, rifle cradled in his arms because he isn’t going to give Holden a chance if he managed to shoot Jess.

A few minutes later Holden stumbles from behind the rock, one hand clutching his arm, Jess following behind and Slim feels his fear ebb away. Keeping the rifle in hand he crosses the yard, opening the gate though he doesn’t enter, watching as Jess marches Holden toward him.

Jess shoves Holden to his knees before holstering his gun. “Caught him not watchin’ his back. Anyone who hunts cougars should know better.”

Reaching down Jess grabs the back of Holden’s jacket, hauling him back up on his feet. “Come on. We ain’t done yet.”

Slim follows them across the yard, to where Jess drops Holden in front of the house. The trapper glares balefully up at them, blood spreading underneath his hand, though he remains silent.

Reaching inside the front door Slim grabs the rope they keep hanging up and tosses it to Jess. “Tie him up. It’ll keep until we get Mort here.”

Catching the rope Jess quickly uncoils it and smiles at Holden, though there is no humor in it. “Send Andy and Jonesy. I ain’t leaving while he’s our guest.”

Andy and Jonesy are already peering around the doorframe and Slim gestures for them. “Let’s get the wagon hitched up so you can go get Mort.” He catches Andy’s shoulder as he moves to go out the front door. “Through the kitchen. Jess has Holden right outside.”

With a quick nod Andy complies, though Jonesy lingers, gaze doing to the broken window. “You suppose we can get him to pay for damages? It isn’t cheap to replace glass, and he broke at least one window.”

Slim laughs, because at this point there isn’t much else he can do. “We’ll take it up with Mort. Maybe as part of damages.”

Muttering to himself Jonesy heads to the kitchen and Slim follows. It doesn’t take him long to get the team hitched up, and he stands in the yard, watching as the wagon disappears down the road to town. 

Slim heads inside, taking in the broken windows, the sparkle of glass across the floor and he grabs the broom. Now he and Jess are going to have to find something to cover the windows until they have a chance to get new glass for them. He sweeps the glass into a pile but doesn’t get much further.

Tucking the broom back into the corner where they keep it Slim sighs. He is glad the mess with Holden is over, but it would be nice if it had been with less damage to the house.

Jess comes inside his face softer, his anger lessened by the fact Holden is tied up. He frowns, reaching up to drag his thumb across Slim’s left cheek. “You’re bleeding.”

Slim touches his cheek, feeling a tacky spot and he lowers his hand, blood spotting his fingers. “Must have been when he shot the window in the living room. I felt something but didn’t give it much thought.”

With an exasperated look Jess pushes Slim in the direction of the table. “Sit. That needs to be cleaned so it doesn’t go sour.”

Slim doesn’t have the energy to fight and he does as he’s told. After the war they both know how little time it takes for a wound to go bad. “You sure it’s safe to leave Holden out there alone?”

Jess nods as he pours some whiskey on a clean rag. “He ain’t going anywhere. I got him so trussed up he can barely breathe, let alone move.” Stepping between Slim’s legs he gently wipes at the cut.

Slim winces at the sting but otherwise doesn’t move. Exhaustion is tugging at him now that adrenaline is burning away and it’s going to be hard to find the energy to finish everything they need to do today.

Rewetting the rag Jess cleans the blood from Slim’s face and sets the rag on the table before leaning closer. He drags his thumb under the cut before gently turning Slim’s head, to get better light. “Looks like there ain’t any glass in it.”

“At this point I don’t think I would care.” Slim curls his hands over Jess’ hips, thumbs stroking over his belt. “We’re going to need new windows.”

Jess laughs before bending down to kiss Slim, soft and fleeting. “Right now it ain’t our biggest problem, but we’ll get them covered for tonight.”

Slim lets his hands fall as Jess steps back from him and he gets to his feet. “We should do it now, before Mort and the stage show up. Better than just standing around and we don’t want to give the stage passengers a wrong impression about this stage stop.”

“Slim, I don’t think a few broken windows are going to change the impression people have of the house. Especially not with Holden sittin’ out there like a clipped wing buzzard.” Jess smiles to soften his words.

Throwing his arm around Jess’ shoulders Slim guides him towards the front door. “Oh, I know how it looks, but it’s home and that is what matters the most.”

\-----

He and Jess have gotten wood up over the broken window on the kitchen door when Jess steps back, dropping the hammer back into the toolbox. “It’ll hold unless it gets real windy.”

Slim nods, dragging his forearm across his forehead. “We need to get a team in harness anyway. Stage should be coming through any time now.”

He can feel Holden’s glare as they head to the barn, an uncomfortable prickle on the back of his neck but Slim ignores him. Even in the beginning he wasn’t scared of Holden and now that the man is bound and diminished, he isn’t much of a worry. 

Slim gives the horses a cursory brushing and checks their hooves as Jess works on untangling the harnesses. Working together they get the horses in harness and out in the yard a few minutes before the stage comes rolling down the hill.

Jess jerks his head toward the yard. “You can get the old team. I’ll bring these up in a few minutes.”

Jack drops down from the driver’s seat as Slim approaches the stage, staring at where Holden is. His gaze swings to Slim and then the broken window on the front of the house. “You two have trouble this morning?”

Slim shakes his head as he unhitches the first two horses. “Not at all.”

One of the passengers opens the door to the stage, stopping when he sees Holden. With a quick look around he ducks back in, shutting the door and pulling the curtain down. 

Jack laughs, watching as Slim and Jess finish changing out the horses. “This got somethin’ to do with what Mose said was going on around here?”

Pausing with the old team in hand Jess glares at Jack. “All you drivers got nothin’ better to do than sit around gossiping like a sewing circle?”

“Come on Jess, it isn’t every day you hear about some cougar that’s got all of a town in an uproar.”

Shaking his head Jess stalks off to the barn, the team following behind and Jack glances at Slim. 

Slim finishes with the team. “Don’t worry about him Jack, he’s just a little sore from getting shot at. Next time you come through Jess will be fine.”

Jack rubs his hands together, gaze going to where Jess is unharnessing the team. “I hope so. He’s one of the last people I want to be on the bad side of.”

Slim shrugs. “Just don’t mention it again and you won’t have any problems with him. You better get moving.”

Waving Jack clambers into box and gathers the reins up. “See you next time Slim.”

“Can I get some water?”

Holden’s voice startles him and Slim turns. The other man is glaring at him and Slim shakes his head, stepping back. “Not after what you pulled here.”

Rather than dealing with the man Slim follows Jess to the corral. He starts stripping the harness from the horse furthest from his partner, though he can feel Jess’ eyes on him. Once he has the harness off, he carries it into the barn.

Jess follows behind him, quickly stretching his own harness across the pegs on the wall.

A hand settles on his shoulder and Jess is at his side. “No need to feel bad for saying no.”

Slim untwists one of the traces. “I don’t. I wouldn’t be half as mad if Andy hadn’t been between us.”

“I know.” Jess slides his fingers up, rubbing at the back of Slim’s neck. “That was a damn fool bad idea on his part, and I made sure he knew it.” 

The anger in Jess’ voice is almost palpable and Slim wonders if Holden realizes how lucky he is to have survived his failed attempt. They both would have been well within in their rights to kill Holden after the first shot and Slim is sure Jess showed great restraint in only injuring the trapper. 

Slim squares his shoulders, and Jess’ fingers drop away. He looks at his partner, who is watching him, and he manages a smile, though he can tell Jess isn’t buying it. “We need to get the rest of the team taken care of.”

He hears Jess sigh behind him and then his partner is following him back out. 

The stage hasn’t been gone for more than ten minutes when Mort comes galloping into the yard. He reins in, frowning as he drops from the saddle. With a curt nod at Jess and Slim he strides to where Holden is still sitting. “You! I told you two days to leave well enough alone and you didn’t.”

Slim hooks his fingers under his gun belt and glances at Jess, not surprised to see his partner has a sharp grin on his face. 

Mort nudges Holden’s boot. “Instead, you decide to get stupid and come out here, to attack two of the finest men this town has to offer.” He points in Slim and Jess’ direction. “You’re damn lucky to be alive, coming up against these two.”

“I did wing him Mort, so he might be needin’ a doctor.” Jess shrugs. “Entirely up to you, of course.”

There is an edge of callousness to Jess’ voice, which Slim can only assume has to do with the fact Andy had been with them when Holden had taken his first shot. He and Jess have been injured enough, but to shoot when there was a child around, Holden is lucky he’s still alive.

Shoving his hat back Mort looks at them. “Alright, where is his damn horse? I doubt he walked all the way out here.”

Jess jerks his head in the direction of the rock. “Back over there. Didn’t see a reason to bring it over here.”

Mort scrubs at his face. “Go get it would you Jess and get it some water before we head back to town.” He gestures to Slim. “You I want to talk to.”

Slim follows Mort away from the house.

Mort sighs. “Way Andy was telling it, I expected a lot more holes in people.”

The anger Slim had thought was gone roars back and he widens his stance. “Only reason we didn’t is because Holden’s first shot went wide. I can get him being angry at me, but to shoot when Andy was standing right there. He’s probably lucky Jess didn’t kill him.”

“That’s what I thought when Andy and Jonesy showed up in town, both of them tripping over themselves to tell me what happened.” Mort sighs. “There will be a trial, as well there should be. I’m going to need you and Jess to come in and sign complaints, but tomorrow will be soon enough. Looks like you’ve got other things to do today.”

Slim smiles ruefully. “Yeah. He did a number on the windows.”

Mort claps Slim on the shoulder before heading back to where Holden is still sitting. “Looks like we need to get you tied up different, so you can ride your horse.”

“I’d leave him like that Mort. Let him come into town like a bag of feed.” Jess is at the trough with Holden’s horse but even from here Slim can see the anger on his face.

Mort glares at Jess. “You plannin’ on throwing him over the saddle Harper, because if you are, feel free!”

Rather than let the two men continue to bicker Slim reaches down and catches the ropes wrapped around Holden. He jerks the man to his feet. “I’m going to loosen the rope, but if you try to get away, I can guarantee you’re going to regret it.”

Holden’s gaze darts to where Jess is approaching with his horse. He shakes his head as he looks at Slim. “I won’t.”

It takes him a moment to undo the knot Jess put in the rope and Slim wonders what Jess said or did to Holden before dragging him down here that has the man so on edge. It doesn’t really matter though so he settles for adjusting the rope, so Holden’s legs are free, but not much beyond that.

Mort watches as he and Jess get Holden in the saddle and he gives a nod before stepping back. “Thanks boys. Remember to come in tomorrow so we can get the complaints written up and signed. I’ll have to find out when the circuit judges comes through next but I’ll let you know.”

Mounting his horse Mort looks at them both. “I’m glad the four of you are safe.” He reaches over and grabs the reins to Holden’s horse, glaring at the man. “No funny business from you.”

They ride out of the yard and Slim sighs. “Let’s finish getting the windows covered and then maybe some lunch.”

Jess rakes a hand through his hair. “Yeah.”

\-----

Slim has just turned the last horse into the corral when he hears a horse and he closes the gate, dropping the loop into place. Turning he leans back against the railing, smiling when he sees Jess. His partner had been in town and he hadn’t been expecting to see him for a few hours yet.

Jess draws up next to him, dropping from the saddle before tying his reins around the top rail.

“I wasn’t expecting you home so soon."

Jess grins as he moves to join Slim, putting his foot up on the bottom rail as he looks at the horses. “I just wanted to make sure Holden got the warm sendoff he deserved.”

Slim turns, close enough he can feel Jess against his side. “Oh, I’m sure it made him feel great.”

“It wasn’t just me. Seems like half of Laramie turned out to see him off and none of it was friendly.”

Laughing Slim shakes his head. Holden’s trial had been quick, and to the point. The longest part had been waiting for the circuit judge to show up, and after talking with Mort, he had arranged the trial for the day he had gotten into town. Everyone had figured Holden was going to end up in the territorial prison for what he had tried, but once Andy had testified, it had been a done deal. 

Even the judge’s face had hardened when Andy had spoken and Holden for once had shown some sense, shrinking down in his seat. After that, it hadn’t taken the jury long to come back with a guilty charge and Mort had whisked Holden out to the jail. 

“Mort figures Ted can take care of town until he gets back?”

Jess rests his arms on the top rail, slanting a look at Slim. “Actually Ted is taking Holden. Seems he was really moved by what Andy said at the trial and decided he wanted to do it.” He laughs at the look of surprise on Slim’s face. “Mort looks about like you did when Ted told him.”

Slim shrugs. “At least something good came out of this whole mess.” Reaching up he lifts Jess’ hat and presses a kiss to his temple. “Just next time, try not to run afoul of a trapper.”

Jess grumbles. “Hadn’t been my plan to begin with.”

Dropping Jess’ hat back down Slim glides his fingers down Jess’ neck, drawing a shiver. Jess edges closer and Slim shifts, letting the other man edge between he and the corral, Jess’ shoulder against his chest and he lightly curls his hand over Jess’ hip. Jonesy is inside making bread, while Andy is on one of his adventures and this is likely the only time like this he and Jess are going to get today. 

The sun is warm against the back of his neck, Jess a line of heat down his body and after the last two weeks, Slim thinks they’re entitled to this closeness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to say this is the end of this series, just in case I get another idea, but for now it is.
> 
> From here I'll be working on Missing Moments more, as well as another big story, more traditional this time. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how many chapters this is going to end up being, but hopefully I'll be able to update it weekly, on either Saturday or Sunday. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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